A dream so real, it's unforgettable
by KikiKapriix
Summary: What will happen when the inhabitants of this mysterious and unusual land find out there have been two outsiders the entire time? Who is this person? Where were they? Why are they there? When did they get there? How did no one find out about this person until just now? Well, they're certainly about to find out. Sorry folks, it's Alice/Elliot aside from the OC.
1. Cat's out of the bag

Author's Note: This is sort of Joker no Kuni no Alice. More of an Author's note at the bottom, more information as well. It's _very_ important you read that, because, this may in fact be the only chapter posted if you do not.

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><p>"<strong>How long has it been?"<strong>

**I asked aloud, my general gaze towards the ceiling. Thoughts flowed through my head. How long has it been? Was it an accident I came here? Why am I even here? Is this all a dream? I'm sure that stupid incubus is amused with all the thoughts riling around in my mind…**

**A sigh heaved from my lips as I slowly removed myself from the bed, slipping the red and black dress required of the maids at the Heart Castle. Pulling the head piece on, I securely tied it and skipped off out of my room. I felt like nothing could go wrong today~**

**Unlike other maids, I was allowed to have my own personal hair style. It wasn't anything too fancy… It was a wavy-ish curl that went to my mid-back. Every 'role-holder' is permitted to have a specific maid for their own personal uses. For some reason or another, I was picked to be Peter White's.**

**My long lashes fluttered, noticing the maids and some guards I passed giving me odd stares. I know some of them thought odd of me, seeing as I was usually overly happy in the morning, but never as bad as today. Doing my usual morning routine, I prepared some tea and headed towards Peter's room.**

**Standing just in front of his door, my head cocked to the side. "Peter! This is uncalled for!" A whine emitted from the white rabbit. "But Alice, my dear, it is you I want near!" I quietly knocked on the door, hearing a shout from inside the room. "I'm busy, can't you see? I do not want your… tea?" He seemed to ask, glasses lazily resting on the bridge of his nose, staring at me quietly.**

**"What's the matter, Sir Peter? Have I done something wrong?" My eyes widened a little, seeing the blond female standing merely feet behind Peter. "You…" His mouth was a gape, not seeming to be able to form a sentence as he stared. I flinched as pain surged through me, seeing the female more clearly. "Kiana…?" To both our surprise, it was not Peter who spoke, but Alice.**

**I dropped the tray holding the tea, the sounds of crashing echoed in the hallway behind me. "Yes, that is her name. How about this is it you came?" Alice seemed to step forward, her hand out reached. Something inside me told me to run, but I just couldn't… Slowly her fingers traced along my cheek, as though to see if I were real or not.**

**"Kiana!" I felt her arms tightly around me, nearly falling backwards with the new weight forced against me. "Alice…" I breathed, pain stinging in my chest, remembering how long it had been since I said that name. "How did you come here?" Alice asked, her blue eyes staring into my… Oh my Nightmare! "Ahh…! N-No wonder all the maids were staring at me…"**

**My hands trailed along the area near my eyes. I let a small whimper escape my lips. Normally I had a flesh-like mask covering the area over my eyes, making me look like just another faceless person… I had never wanted to be known as an outsider…"What's wrong, Kiana?" Her head tilted, staring at me. "W-Well…" I spoke, explaining the situation at hand. "But today… I must have forgotten to put it on…" I couldn't lie to Alice.**

**Peter still seemed to be awe-struck. "Two outsiders…? Alice do you know her?" He questioned his ruby hues filled with such confusion. Alice nodded happily. "Yeah! But…" The three of us blinked, Alice about to push me out the door before Ace popped up in front of us. I squeaked, covering my eyes. "S-Sir Ace!"**

**"Huuuhh?" He seemed to ask, leaning forward near me. "You're never embarrassed to see me~ what's wrong with you today?" He grinned at me, blinking at seeing the three of us huddled in such a tight space. "Oh! Alice, I was going to come see you. Didn't think I'd find you with **_**it**_**~" Alice laughed nervously, scratching the side of her face.**

**"W-Well, Kiana and I will be hanging out! Come on!" I squeaked, feeling her arm around mine. "What's this?" My eyes widened, feeling Ace, quite literally, in my face. "S-Sir Ace… P-Please… This is making me uncomfortable…" Alice's brows furrowed, using her free hand to push Ace aside. "We'll be going now, bye~" It didn't take long for the two of us to disappear from the Heart Castle.**

**"Where are we going?" Even though I had whined, a smile was crossed across my cheeks. It reminded me of when we were little… Alice always dragged me around the garden, pretending we were in some jungle far away from… "I want you to meet everyone!" My head cocked to the side, seeing the Amusement Park approaching. "Taking me to 'officially' meet Boris and Gowland?"**

**I had met them one time, but I was sure they didn't remember me. "Hey, Alice!" It was unmistakable who spoke, Boris soon greeting the two of us with Dee and Dum at his sides. His ear gave a light twitch, leaning somewhat close to me. "Aren't you that little maid who works for Peter?" A nervous laugh escaped my lips, scratching the back of my head.**

**"Y-Yes…" Before I could finish, Alice interrupted me. "Though, she's not really a faceless person!" "Well, I can see that." "No, no, I mean she's like me… I guess you can say…" It was obvious that it seemed a little odd for Alice to say that. I was sure that if I had to refer to someone being 'like me'; I'd feel a little uncomfortable… Especially being around the people of Heartland…**

**"Lady! Who's this lady?" Dee spoke, cocking his head to the side. "Yeah, who's this pretty lady?" Dum asked, poking my side. "M-My name's Kiana… I'm Peter White's personal maid…" I responded, introducing myself. "**_**Eww**_**!" The two of them said in unison. "Why would you work for **_**him**_**?" They seemed a bit disgusted, frowning at me.**

**"I'm not honestly sure how it happened, it just did… Now it's nice to meet you, Dee… Dum…" I spoke giving each one a small pat on the head as I spoke their name. This only caused them to frown. "Eh? Did I do something wrong?" Only moments passed by, two older boys standing in their place. "Don't treat us like kids!" Dum said with a frown, leaning forward as our foreheads almost touched. "Yeah…"**

**The one I had guessed was Dee by his blue eyes spoke, about to grab my hand. "W-What the?" Alice shooed the two away from me, brows furrowed. "Don't harass her! I'm sure you don't want her to hate you…" As had happened before, the two were soon the same children, standing in front of us. "But, but, lady…" Dum whined, an obvious frown on his lips.**

**"You don't hate us… Do you, lady?" Dee spoke with a slight saddened frown, blue eyes looking towards me for any sign stating otherwise. Alice and I both stared at the two frowns appearing. "No…" I said with a small smile. "It's hard to stay mad at the two of you when you're in this form…" Alice said with a smile as well. She was right…**

**They hadn't appeared… particularly happy about the statement, but seemed to accept it. "Anyway… I'm sure you want her to meet the old man, right?" Boris asked, soon taking a step closer to me. I looked to him, blinking. "Yeah… 'officially' anyway…" I mumbled, which seemed to make him chuckle. "Alright… Well then, my name's Boris Airay…" He spoke with his trademark grin. I gave a small smile. "My name's Kiana Li Mariveil~ Nice to meet you, Boris."**

**He soon started walking us off towards where Gowland was. The twins stuck with us, something about not wanting to be yelled at by that pissy hare… I wasn't quite sure. Despite knowing Boris and Gowland, I hadn't visited any other territory… Dee and Dum were usually hanging out with Boris though, that's the only reason I knew them. "Well, well! If it isn't my Alice! What brings you to the park today?" Gowland greeted with a grin, another male sitting nearby.**

_**Does he have mouse ears…?**_** I shrugged the thought from my head, watching Alice laugh nervously. "I wanted you to meet my closest friend from my world… Kiana…" Her blue eyes seemed to brighten when she looked at me, causing me to blush a little. She always had such high thoughts of me… I never saw it~ "Haven't I met you before?" He asked, rubbing his stubbly chin.**

**"Yeah! Remember that maid following Peter? That's her." Boris seemed to explain, tail swishing as his thumb pointed towards me. "Y-Yeah… I didn't want to be found out, but cat's out of the bag, so why bother trying to shove him back in?" The twins seemed to snicker at my statement, staring at Boris with new found interest. I just blinked curiously, deciding not to ask.**

**"Oh, is that so? Well! Any friend of Alice's is a friend of mine!" I squealed, feeling his arms wrap around me in a hug, being picked off the ground by a couple of inches. After being let down, he grinned, pulling his violin-looking creation out. "I should play something for this joyous occasion!" Boris shook his head. "No, you shouldn't…"**

**Gowland seemed to frown before putting it away. Boris grinned towards the boy who had seemingly been sleeping. "Come here little mousey, mousey~" He purred, sneaking up to him. "Eep!" He squeaked, jumping from his seat. It was a short game of what looked like cat and mouse before the unknown male hid behind me. "Erm…" A bead of sweat rolled down my cheek, feeling like I was the obstacle blocking the kitty from getting his prey.**

**"What did I tell you about chasing poor Peirce?" Alice asked with a frown, crossing her arms over her chest. He seemed to give his attention towards her, scratching the side of his face. "I know… but it's so hard… I'm a cat~ he's a mouse it's in our DNA…" He started to explain. "I'm meant to chase… or in his case… **_**be chased**_**…" His attention turned in my direction again, tail swishing at the thought of chasing him.**

**"Ehehe…" I said with a nervous laugh, not sure what to do. Over all, the visit to the Amusement Park was interesting. Gowland seemed to instantly like me, Boris and I seemed to click, Peirce… well… It was hard to tell since he was usually hiding when he wasn't being chased. Dee and Dum often switched between their older form and their younger, their older to try to make me blush, younger so I couldn't yell at them…**

**Though I had gotten a few nicknames during the visit… At one time when Boris wasn't chasing Peirce, we talked for a bit in which he called me "Kitty Kiana~". This only made Alice call me 'Kiki Kitty', which in short gave me the official nickname 'Kiki'. She said 'Kiki Kitty' seemed to fit more. Dee and Dum had decided to call me 'Pretty Lady' to differentiate between Alice and me…**

**I mostly think it's because I fell for their stupid tricks when Alice doesn't… Though, now we're on our way to the clock tower! Exciting, right? I get to meet that –stupid– incubus face-to-face. I'll also be meeting Julius and Gray for the first times… This should be interesting. Alice insisted on me staying there, something about not being around that perverted freak Peter… Don't remember exactly.**

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><p>How will everyone react? Uwah! I wanna know more… -face palm; R-Right… I'm writing it. ;

Want me to _think_ about writing more? Read and Review! Seriously! It only takes five seconds! If you review, I'll even read one of your stories! If I don't like anything of what you've written… Erm ^_^; Sorry…

T-Though I'll still try! I don't care what you've written! If I can in some way related to it, I'll read it! If nothing more than a chapter! (I'm a lazy reader, sorry. u.u )

I'm writing them as well as I can, so please forgive me~ I'm sure I've gotten something wrong. This WILL be a romance-y fan fiction.

FANS IT'S SERIOUSLY YOUR CHOICE!

(Even if they seem close, it may not be obvious possible relationships ;u; )

Ace

Blood

Boris

Dee & Dum

(POSSIBLY e.e) Gray

Nightmare

Who will I most likely choose? Ace, Boris, or Dee & Dum… Why? Boris and Ace are probably the two easiest for me to write… The other three are hard! D: You choose.


	2. A day at the Clock Tower

**Author's Note;** Err, this is shorter than I wanted. Mostly due to the fact I had an important idea for chapter three~ e.e So I had to move this along and get it out of the way. I feel I'll be to OOC for Julius and Gray, so I apologize if they're not seen much… Nightmare I'm making him well as my friend does with more nice-ness to him. (She doesn't like making him so nice~ xD) Oh, send me PMs if you have any ideas, if you don't like reviewing, or if you just want to guess what might happen next~ (Enjoy the few people who have read and liked it!)

**Kikikapriix; I don't own Clover/Heart/Joker no Kuni no Alice or any of their characters! D;**

**Kiana; .u.; If you did then I would probably really exsist and not just be apart of your imagination...**

**Kikikapriix; (#((#)&)(*)(*# You're a part of me! Just... More loud... and I can put you where I want...**

**Kiana; =3= Which is why I get the sexy guys and you're stuck there. :3**

**Kikikapriix; ;~; She's so mean...**

**Alice; ^^; Like she said, she doesn-**

**Ace; She doesn't own Clover/Heart/Joker no Kuni no Alice~**

**Kiana; .u. GO AWAY. YOU CAN COME BACK IN CHAPTER FOUR! -covers mouth;**

**KikiKapriix; Good going. Dx**

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><p><strong>Chapter two; A day at the clock tower<strong>

**"Good afternoon, Julius, Gray, Nightmare!" Alice spoke in a chipper mood, pulling me into the clock tower. I sighed heavily, eyes half lidded as I looked around. "Good afternoon, Miss Alice." My head tilted to the side. It was an unfamiliar voice, oh wait… I frowned. I really didn't know much about the people in this world… "Oh, Gray! This is my friend, Kiana. Kiana, this is Gray, he works for Nightmare."**

**I looked up to him, long lashes fluttering in my view, not fully closing my eyes. "Err… H-Hello, it's nice to meet you, Gray…" He nodded his head, soon asking if we wanted anything to drink. Alice just responded saying we'd take some tea before he walked off. I wouldn't doubt he'd ask Nightmare about me; after all, he'd most likely get more information from the dream demon than he would from me…**

**I groaned softly, my eyelids becoming heavier as we walked. "Ugh…" Was I passing out? My head felt light… Before I knew it I was surrounded by nothing but black. Grunting shortly, I lifted myself into a sitting position. My eyelids opened and soon half-lidded as I blankly stared ahead towards the dream demon known as Nightmare Gottschalk.**

**"Good evening, Kiana~" "Ugh, the time's already changed?" He laughed softly. "Yes, it has." He responded, watching me run my hand through my hair. He wasn't always so… nice. He had his moments of good and bad. He seemed to be in a good mood today… What happened in the first place…? "You passed out." Ugh! Stupid incubus and his stupid mind reading ability…**

**He laughed again, floating at an odd angle over head. "Alice caught you before you hit the floor, so no head trauma." "Yay… Lucky me, I won't be stuck looking at you until I'm better…" He frowned lightly, holding his hands in the air as his shoulders gave a small shrug. "It just seems your immune system is weak. Pierce has a cold, and well, it appears since he liked hiding behind you, you caught it. Looks like you won't be heading to the Hatter's Mansion or back to the Heart Castle anytime soon…"**

**Speaking of the Heart Castle… My eyes wandered towards my body, seeing new clothing on it in place of the maid's uniform. My eyes widened lightly, cheeks turning a soft pink. It was an oddly short silk night gown, silver cloth shimmering against my pale skin. It was short sleeved and had a gold trim with a black bow in the middle over the chest area. "What the hell?"**

**He snickered, watching my reaction to the new clothing. My brows furrowed, trying to hit him. "You tell me what happened!" I hissed, glaring at him. "I have to admit, I didn't think he'd buy something so **_**skimpy**_**, but Gray bought it… and, well, you can figure out on your own who undressed you…" He floated a bit further away from me, already reading my thoughts. I wanted to kill him…**

**An innocent smile crossed my lips. "You'll tell me what happened!" I hissed as I pounced on top of him. "Get off of me!" He yelled back, struggling to remove me. I didn't budge. He was sickly, I was healthy~ I had the advantage… or so I thought. "Your nightgown's lifting~" I squeaked, quickly getting off of him as I cursed under my breath.**

**"Well… Looks like you're waking up…" He spoke, his grey eye looking away from me and off into the distance. My head tilted in slight confusion. "I'll get you in the real world~…" I spoke a little more cheerful than I expected. "na…? ana…? Kiana? Kiana! Are you alright?" My once heavy eyelids flew open, staring into the blue eyes of Alice Liddell.**

**I put on my usual grin, scratching my head. "Yeah, I'm fine… How long was I out for? Nightmare told me it was evening, but I'm sure it's past that now…" No one really knew how long the time would last, or how long dreams really lasted. A few moments with Nightmare could be an entire day in the real world. It could be a bit frustrating at times.**

**"It's morning… Nightmare informed us you got sick… I don't know how he knows, since he hates doctors… But I got you some medicine! Take it once a day until you feel better… Alright?" My lips pursed, sticking my tongue out as I took the pill from her. If I didn't take it myself… she'd force me to. And I really didn't want that to happen… Sipping the water from the glass, I swallowed the pill.**

**Soon I walked out, with a lot of help from Alice, heading to the breakfast table. Before we even made it into the kitchen, my hand was clasped over my nose and mouth. There was black **_**awful smelling**_** smoke emitting from the kitchen. "Dear god… What is that?" A bead of sweat rolled down Alice's cheek. "G-Gray… I told you it'd only take a moment…"**

**Gray had a somewhat frustrated frown on his face, sighing in defeat. "I'll let you finish everything up then…" A pink was somewhat flushed across his cheeks, taking the pink apron off and handing it to Alice. Nearly bumping into me on the way out, his golden hues looked down to me. "Are you sure you should be out of bed, Miss Kiana? Lord Nightmare informed us that you were sick… Shouldn't you be resting?"**

**I waved my hand back and forth, sticking my tongue out. "No!" His brow arched, but decided not to take the conversation further. Grinning in triumph I strolled into the kitchen. "Alice you should let me…" I spoke. "But you're sick…" She protested. "But Alice…" I whined like a little kid. I loved cooking! Well, sometimes… Other than when I **_**absolutely had**_** to for Peter, I liked cooking on **_**my**_** time.**

**Alice looked at me sternly causing me to frown. "Yes, ma'am…" I said sulking out of the room. She seemed confused by this statement. "But you're older than me!" She yelled from the kitchen. "Yeah, by a few months…" I retorted. "Still older." I rolled my eyes, sulking into the area Julius always worked on his clocks. My eyes immediately landed on a sickly man sitting in front of the fire place. "… You!"**

**A familiar groan sounded through the air, the man under the blanket turning to me. "Stop being so loud! I didn't get much sleep last night…" I put my hands on my hips, leering at him. "That's hard to believe, considering we were talking for so long in my dream…" The sound of a pot hitting the floor echoed from the kitchen. Soon I ran in, seeing if Alice was okay.**

**"Allliiiccceee!" I said, highly over dramatizing her name. "It's nothing; it was just too high…" Alice responded, looking at the cabinet that was opened. I didn't hear much, but I could understand she was muttering something like 'How did it get way up there?' Not **_**completely**_** sure though. "Gray is right though, go back to bed. I'll give you your food when you wake up, okay?"**

**She smiled at me, but I could see beyond that. She was concerned for my health, she always has been. "Fine…" I muttered defiantly, trudging back to my room. Maybe I could get some sleep without Nightmare bothering me… He seemed pretty awake in the other room… I slowly crawled back into bed, grumbling that I needed to get a new nightgown when I woke up.**

**Staring at the ceiling, I thought. **_**'It's hard to tell what those three think… Nightmare seems like a Gemini, one second he acts like he hates me, the next he acts like nothing happened… Okay well, not quite the next moment, but his attitude does change regularly, around me anyway… Julius and Gray… I can't even fathom what they might be thinking. Oh well, I guess.'**_** Finishing my thoughts I closed my eyes. It didn't take long for my thoughts to be clouded, finding myself in dream land sooner than I expected…**

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><p>So what will happen when she wakes up? What do Julius and Gray think of her? How <em>did<em> she end up in Wonderland? Oh so many questions!

None of those will be answered in the next chapter; next few chapters, maybe, but not the next. :D Just wanted to tell you before you got your hopes too high.

I HAVE come up with an idea of how she entered there, it's something beyond what people will imagine~

Okay, so it's not too hard to figure out if you pay attention to things but, I'll leave that to your imagination.

**Small info for next chapter; It's been said early on that Alice and Kiana are close, but how close are they **_**really**_**?**

It goes a little further into that relationship without going too far off the building storyline (Wait there is one?)

Once I get 10-20 reviews, there will be no further acceptance of possible pairing. (Meaning, once the bar hits 20 and there's an over whelming amount voting for one person, I'm most likely going to pair her with him. Now if say Boris and Ace both have like 10 each by twenty, the twenty first will be the tie breaker! Or until someone says one or the other u.u)

Okay, I write too much. Wait and see what happens next time~


	3. Onee chan

**Author's Note;** Well remember in chapter two? Well here you go! This whole chapter has only Kiana and Alice (and briefly one character at the end). Italics are usually memories if there's a large group. I'll also be switching between POV's. Not _too_ often, but sometimes. Typically I'm used to writing in third person, which is why I'll tend to do it in situations where I want to show everyone's emotions and how everyone is acting, but I'm going to try to keep it as first person as I can. I just want to draw the chibi-Alice and chibi-Kiana (but I can't draw ;w;) *w* they're sooo cute! Anyway, for those of you still reading, enjoy~ Also, when there's a longer seperation, it's probably a _different_ memory.

**Ace; -**

**Kiana; NOT YET.**

**Ace; I was just going to remind them she doesn't own C/H/JnKnA~**

**KikiKapriix; Yeah, yeah. You heard the cute pyscho! Oh, and this is an apology for making you wait so long for chapter two~ (Did anyone else watch the preview? I got confused~ ;3;)**

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><p><strong>Chapter Three; Onee-chan<strong>

_**A little girl skipped through the green grass, giggling happily. She wore a pale blue dress with her hair tied up with a ribbon. "38… 39… 40…! Ready or not, here I come!" The small girl who had been counting with her arms covering her face yelled. This one had shoulder length black hair, a long bright pink ribbon keeping it from falling in her face. Her dress was white, a pink floral design trailing around the bottom of it.**_

_**It only took ten minutes for the seeker in the game to get frustrated, placing her hands on her hips as she frowned. Giggling could be heard in the tree above her, forcing her gaze to go up. "Alice! What are you doing up there?" Alice just giggled, shifting so she could look at her friend. "We're on a safari, remember? I'm hiding from the lions!"**_

_**The girl sighed, not knowing how to respond to her statement. Struggling to climb the tree, the two sat on the high up tree branch. "Kiana, when you look at the sky, what do you see?" The young girl's head tilted, blinking to look at the bright blue sky. "Well," she started, "I see blue, with white fluff, and a bright yellow ball… Is there more to see?"**_

_**She spoke, her finger pointing to the clouds before turning to point at the sun. Alice blinked at her response, soon giggling. "That's the sun, silly… and those are clouds!" Leaning on her, Kiana mumbled. "I know that… Why such a random question, Alice?" Her shoulders shrugged, causing the other to groan. "You're so weird sometimes…"**_

_**The sounds of crying were filling the air, Alice sobbing at Kiana's bedside. It seemed there would be no end to her crying, that was until Kiana's eyes slowly opened. "Huh? Why are you crying? Don't tell me you scraped your knee again…" A concerned look filled her bright cyan eyes, attempting to check if her friend was alright. Pain surged through the young girl's body, tears forming as Alice forced her to lie back down.**_

_**"Don't! The doctor will be here soon!" She whimpered, pleading her to stay in bed. Frustration took over the girl, pouting. "I'm fine… Just hurts a bit… What happened anyway?" Alice pulled her seat closer to the bed's side, fidgeting as she thought of how to word the situation. "O-Onee-chan… You got hit by a car…" A loud groan escaped her lips, not noticing the last part.**_

_**"I've told you fifteen million times, I'm not really your sister…" Her brows furrowed, protesting against her statement. "I don't care! You're like a sister to me!" Her eyes widened, taken back a bit by her yelling. A sigh heaved from her lips, thinking over what she had said before their short fuss. "E-Eh? I got hit by a car? Oh, I thought it was worse…"**_

_**Frowning, Alice leaned over to hug her tightly. "I thought you were dead!" She said through sobs, shaking as her tears started over flowing again. "I'm thirteen, I can handle myself." Her arms wrapped around the sobbing female, gently stroking her back. "Besides, I promised I'd never leave you… So if I have to make a deal with the devil to come back, even if I'm a zombie, I'll be right by your side!"**_

_**Her eyes wandered away from her, staring at the ceiling in thought. "Unless you try to kill me, then maybe I'll be chasing you down for your brains… But you get my point~" She smiled at her which caused Alice to smile back. "R-Right! I'll go tell everyone you're awake then…" She nodded, watching her run out of the room to retrieve the others.**_

**I watched quietly as the video frames seemed to fade in color, turning black and white, continuing on now with no sound. I knew I was dreaming there was no other way to explain it. It wasn't often I thought of the past… Especially not such random moments that were completely different from one another.**

**"She still yells at me for taking that so lightly…" I laughed softly, thinking further on the car accident memory. I had been walking along the side walk when a car swerved to avoid hitting a dog, and, well they hit a girl who was barely a teenager. My parents hadn't cared much about me; they were more concerned with the medical bill…**

**Alice was the only one who did… Well, Lorina did… but she and I were not that close back then… As I momentarily closed my eyes, another video frame appeared before me, playing yet another memory.**

_**There stood three girls, a black haired girl who looked about nine, a blond haired girl who was about eight, and an older one with similar blond hair to the younger. The two younger girls stared in awe, leaning over as far as they could over the railing that they were barely taller than. "Alice… Isn't it beautiful?" The black haired girl asked bright cyan eyes filled with amazement.**_

_**Alice nodded in agreement, her blue eyes carefully watching. Today Alice's older sister, Lorina, had said that she'd take them both to the zoo, which was what held their attention to tightly. Alice wore a white sun dress, while Kiana had a hot pink one. They looked practically the same, with the exception that Alice wore a blue bow, and Kiana wore a cyan one, refusing to wear a pink one.**_

_**"I wish I could pet it…" Kiana spoke, intently staring at the creature below. It was a large feline, widely known as a 'white' tiger due to the white covering what was normally orange. The cubs were playing in the water, their target being a large ball that floated about. The elder tigers were taking a nap after the meal they had just eaten.**_

_**"Kiana, you said you wanted a black cat didn't you?" Alice questioned her head turning towards the girl. Kiana nodded. This caused her to giggle lightly. "Well I told onee-chan that I want a white one! How about we have your black cat and my white cat have babies so we can have black and white cats?" Her head tilted in confusion, but giggled. "Sure!" Lorina laughed softly at their odd way of thinking, grabbing their hands and walking to the next exhibit with the two.**_

**"We never did get to…" I frowned. It was a stupid idea, but I did want a black cat… What can I say? I'm not superstitious… Everything soon started to grow black, the video frames of my memories disappearing. "Is it time to wake up?" I asked, an odd feeling rushing over me. "Well, it's better to go with it than to fight it…"**

**No One's POV;**

**Alice sighed lightly, pushing the dirty dishes into the sink. It had been a week since she brought Kiana there. It had only taken her about three days to get over whatever Pierce had given her. Which was good, but she was still worried. "Onee-chan?" Her voice rang out, peeking into the room. Small stirring was seen in the bed causing her to smile.**

**Kiana's head slowly erupted from the sheets, dull cyan eyes staring at her. Her eyelids slowly dragged down, falling back onto the bed with a small thump. Soon she lifted herself up again, giving Alice a small grin. "I'm awake, I'm awake. What's up? You look exhausted~" Tilting her head, she frowned.**

**"Did Gray…?" She nodded with a small sigh, plopping herself down on the bed next to the sleepy girl. "Not only did he do that, there was a small fire! It took me a bit, but I eventually put it out… Here…" Picking up the brush from her bed side, she slowly began to brush the knots out of the black mess. "You know… I don't have any clothes besides the dress you let me borrow…"**

**Silence filled the air for a moment, Alice thinking quietly on the subject. She couldn't wear that maid's outfit… She was **_**never**_**going to be working there again… If he tried to bring her back, she'd just tell Vivaldi.~ She was sure Vivaldi wouldn't want Kiana, had she met her for her and not just another faceless maid, to work under that perverted sicko…**

**"Well I have some extra money; we could go shopping after you get dressed… I went there once; the clothes totally seem like your style! For me, well… it all seems either really girly/frilly or the type of clothes you wear…" She explained with a nervous laugh. "What's wrong with the clothes I wear?" The short tempered girl yelled out, pulling her hair back into a lazy bun.**

**She waved her hands in front of her. "I didn't say there was anything wrong with it, just not exactly the type of clothes I feel comfortable in…" Her anger seemed to die down, leaning on her shoulder with a yawn. "Alright let's go then… but I'm totally getting a job to pay you back… since I can't go get the money from the Heart Castle…"**

**Alice's POV;**

**After Kiana got dressed, I pulled her with me out of the Clock Tower. Gray was busy helping Nightmare and Julius was working on clocks as usual… I had planned on trying to bring him to the Amusement Park but since she wanted some new clothes, I decided it'd be okay for it to wait another day. "It's just up ahead." I said, walking forward into the small city.**

**I looked to see her thinking intently, looking around quietly. "Huh? Is something wrong, onee-chan?" She shook her head with a usual grin plastered across her face. "Nah, I was just remembering the people who helped me. They lived around here…" My eyelids fluttered, watching her. She lived with faceless people? I was curious on who they were…**

"**Hm? Oh, I'll tell you about it later. No point in worrying about it now, it's not like I'll be looking for them… For all I know they may not even be the same people…" She spoke sadly, looking down at the ground. I frowned at her last sentence, which seemed to cause her to groan. "You need to stop worrying about me! I'm fine, I'm fine! I promise~"**

**I laughed lightly at her effort to cheer me up, lacing my left arm around her right one. "The store's just this way!" After a short walk, the two of us walked into the store. "It's gotten bigger and has more inventory than last time…" I said as I looked over all the new clothes. My hands traced over a white sundress with a floral design going from the left hip down to the bottom right of the dress.**

"**You should try it on, Alice~" I blinked a little, not realizing Kiana had slipped away from me to look at clothes on her own. "I'll get some stuff for me after you get your things, okay?" She muttered an 'okay', giving me an oddly evil grin before disappearing back into the clothes. I could usually make out what was on her mind, but sometimes it seemed so wild that I'm sure Nightmare has a hard time understanding…**

**Kiana's POV;**

**My hands slowly trailed along the fabric of the various clothes. They all felt nice, but none seemed to fit 'me'. Eventually my eyes locked onto the perfect outfit. It consisted of a pair of black shorts with a white shirt. There wasn't much to the shorts, the shirt was short sleeved, the collar of the shirt lower than most so it hung around the top of one's shoulders when worn.**

**It may not have been the perfect outfit, but it was the only outfit I could see myself wearing right now. Grabbing the two pieces of clothing, I ran into the changing room. Coming out I grabbed a pair of black flip flops with blue sunglasses. "Alice~" I cooed skipping over to her side. "Huh?" She questioned, looking to me. "Wow! You look great… Though it's not really that sunny out…"**

**I pouted, crossing my arms over my chest. "Let me pick out your outfit~" I said with a grin which caused her face to turn a bit blue. "N-No… I can find something on my own…" She responded with a nervous laugh. "Aww~ don't want your onee-chan's help anymore? I'm hurt!" I sniffled, pretending to be hurt. My right eye opened, looking towards her.**

**"Fine…" She said with a defeated sigh. "Yes!" I squealed running away from her. My finger tapped against my chin, thinking as I looked over the clothes. "Which one… Which one… Which one should I choose? Alice doesn't like the frilly stuff, so that knocks out a whole aisle of clothes… She doesn't wear pants or shorts…"**

**Alice's POV;**

**I sighed with a bit of impatience. I could normally wait but she was taking a while… I felt hands on my back as I was shoved into a dressing room. "H-Hey! What's the big deal?" A giggle was the only response I got. Recognizing it as Kiana's I turned my head to look at the outfit she chose for me. I swallowed a little, pulling the skirt on first after undressing.**

**It was a blue jean skirt that ended just above my knees. The shirt was a plain blue T-shirt in a similar color to the dress I usually wear. It felt weird… It wasn't that I didn't like it; I was just so used to wearing the same thing… "Oh, this also~" I sighed at her method of giving me the new clothing; throwing it through the small hole at the top of the door…**

**There was a bow similar to mine with no gold trim or heart, just plain blue, and stockings in similar manor to the ones I was wearing except the white areas held a lighter pale blue color. "What can I say? You look good in blue~" With the tone she spoke in, I could tell that she was shrugging her shoulders.**

**I sighed, changing into the stockings before securing the bow in my hair. "I'm coming out…" Opening the door, I flinched to see Boris standing in front of me. "B-Boris? What're you doing here?" His tail swished as he looked over me for a second. "Not bad, Alice. I assumed you liked dresses, so I figured you'd be wearing a dress, but it looks good."**

**A giggle erupted from behind him, Kiana leaning her chin on his shoulder, standing on her tippy-toes to look at me. "Doesn't it? I just knew it'd look good when I picked it out~ For as long as I remember she's always worn dresses… but she looks good in anything she wears, really~" My cheeks flushed with a small pink, blinking. I smiled, shaking my head.**

**"No, onee-chan is the one who can look good in anything!" I protested with another smile. It was true… She was like Lorina… Elegant and beautiful… Smart and radiant… I just wish she could see it herself. A sigh heaved from her lips, giving me a small glare. "What did I tell you about that? I'll accept the compliment of me being smart, but I'm not elegant or beautiful…"**

**Boris' head tilted in slight confusion, blinking. "Did I miss something here?" I giggled lightly, waving my hand as I shook my head. "No, she's just hearing things." I teased. "No, she just thinks things that aren't true… Every time you stare at me with that blank expression, you're thinking that~ You should work on that." She teased back.**

**We giggled lightly, getting some more clothes and heading back to the Clock Tower with Boris helping with carrying the bags. "Bye, Boris~ I'll try to come around with Julius tomorrow or the next day." He gave a small nod before saying bye and disappearing. "Come on, before Gray starts cooking…" Kiana spoke, her face flushing. I laughed softly, walking into the tower with her.**

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><p>Wasn't that interesting? Now we know Kiana's –slightly– older than Alice, not by much! We also see Kiana's favorite animal, which is kind of mine too… White tigers :3 Well, since all the important stuff has been said up top, or in previous chapters, I DON'T HAVE MUCH TO SAY! How sad…<p>

**Next up; Alice decides it's time for Kiana to meet everyone in the Hatter's Mansion. She's already met Dee and Dum, but what will she think of Blood Dupre and Elliot March? What happens when things go a stray and Kiana runs out?**

**Stay tuned and see!**

Yaaayyy!


	4. Enter the Ace of Hearts

**Author's Note;** There's a huge hint by the name. I'm not giving it away, just yet, so just keep reading to see if you can figure it out. _Guesses should only be made via PM!_ I don't want reviews with guesses, only because if they're true then it'll spoil the fun! But leave reviews about what you think~ Enter the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. Go, go, go!

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><p><strong>Chapter Four; Enter the Ace of Hearts<strong>

**I sighed as we walked along the trail to the Hatter's mansion. The visit to the amusement park was delayed further because Alice wanted me to at least briefly meet the residents of the Hatter's. "Blood Dupre… Huh?" I questioned as I stared at the amazing view of the mansion. It was a stunning building. Nothing like the castle, but I wouldn't mind living there.**

****"Elliot March lives here too. Just don't call him a rabbit…" Alice informed me as she scratched the side of her head. Was he like Peter? I thought on the matter, soon feeling two pairs of arms around my waist. "H-Hey!" I yelled, pink crossing my face as I tried removing them. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have minded, but it seemed without meaning to that they were tugging my skirt ever so slightly downwards. ****

**"Lady and Pretty Lady came to visit us! Yaayy!" They said happily in unison before rushing over to Alice and hugging her. I laughed a little, forcing myself not to think about how they were in their older forms. "Yeah, we did… Did ya miss me?" They looked to each other for a second before answering. "We missed both the lady and the pretty lady…"**

**Dum spoke, staying near Alice as Dee came back near me. "Yeah! When Boris told us lady and pretty lady were going to go to the Amusement Park, we went there everyday but boss started getting mad…" Dee explained with a frown, soon being replaced with a smile. "But lady and pretty lady are here now! So now we can do our job **_**and **_**see you!" I smiled and patted him on the head.**

**"Aww, that's so cute that you missed us so much…" Dee frowned along with Dum. I knew that look… It was usually followed with… "What did Blood tell you two?" The four of us heard, interrupting their chance to change into their older form. I looked to the figure who spoke and tilted my head. Those were so bunny ears. "Bug off pissy hare!" Dum shouted with an annoyed look. "Yeah! Shouldn't you be doing **_**your**_** work?"**

**Dee added. The male frowned, his brows furrowing. "Well it's impossible to do my work when you two are out here doing **_**anything**_** to avoid yours! How many times have I told you not to tie up the maids?" I cringed at hearing that statement, slightly glad I didn't think to work here instead of the Heart Castle. His hand flew outwards, pointing towards where a few maids were tied up in a tree. "Oh wow…" I said with a nervous laugh.**

**"Elliot…" Alice said with a nervous laugh which caused Elliot's ears to twitch slightly. "A-Alice! I didn't see you… I-I'm sorry…" He spoke rubbing the back of his neck. "What brings you here? Let's head inside… You two, back to work!" He briefly smiled when speaking with Alice, glaring to the twins threateningly. "You can't hog the lady and the pretty lady all to yourself!" Dee protested with a frown. "Yeah, and you're not the boss so we don't have to listen to you!" Dum added in.**

**Inevitably the twins joined us inside as we waited for the maid to finish making the tea. "Well… Kiana here hasn't met everyone yet, so I'm taking her to meet the residents of each territory…" Alice began explaining to Elliot, Dum clinging to her side as Dee held tightly to me. It didn't bother either of us much, since they were currently in their child form.**

**"Oh! I see… How did you get here?" Elliot asked me, causing me to scratch the side of my face. "W-Well… I'm not really comfortable talking about it right now… Is it alright if I tell you at a later time?" He nodded his head before both of our attention was turned towards Alice, who was giggling.**

**"She's normally not open with new people, so don't take anything personal by it, Elliot. It took me a whole a week of pestering her to even get her name when we first met…" A small pink crossed my cheeks, scratching the back of my head. I wasn't **_**shy**_** I was just… hesitant to tell people about myself. There's been so much in my life I'd rather not relive…**

**"O-Oh… Sorry for asking then…" He apologized, I shook my head. "No, no. You didn't know. If you had known before asking, then maybe I might be a little mad. Since we just met, it can't be helped. I'm sure it's kind of weird to have two outsiders around too… So…"**

**We had eventually gotten off the subject and began just talking casually. I sipped my tea happily, watching Elliot sip his carrot tea. "Alice, he's so a bunny…" I whispered into her ear, watching his ear twitch. Did he…? "For someone who's not a rabbit, you sure eat a lot of carrots, pissy hare." Dum spoke, purposely trying to bother him.**

**"D-Dum…" Alice tried to stop. We both sighed as the conversation was brought up again, watching the three argue amongst one another. "So… The guy you like… He lives here doesn't he?" I questioned Alice, watching her face grow pink. "Keep it down, Kiki!" I giggled at the frustration and embarrassment on her face, laughing so hard I ended up dropping my cup.**

**"Onee-chan it's not funny…" Wiping my eyes, I bent down to start cleaning up the cup. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to laugh so hard…" "You should let a maid do that…" Elliot said, getting up to call a maid over. I pouted and leaned back into my chair, crossing my arms over my chest.**

**No One's POV;**

**Kiana silently huffed to herself as she watched the maid clean up the glass, Alice laughing nervously while recovering from the short scene from earlier. It didn't take long for Elliot, Dee, and Dum to start fussing again. The maid quietly cleaned up the tea from the floor, giving Kiana another cup full of tea. "Thank you…" She spoke quietly, sipping her tea.**

**"Did I give permission for either of you to enter my mansion? Why are you three **_**slacking**_** on your jobs?" The three workers of the Hatter's Mansion stiffened at the new voice. Slowly the group's gaze was turned towards a black haired male who looked like he'd been woken up. Kiana's head tilted to the side, staring at the new figure.**

**"Oh, it's another filthy outsider? She works quicker than Alice, it seems, having already seduced the three of you." He spoke in an annoyed tone. Kiana's brows furrowed, setting her cup down as she glared to the man. "What the hell is your problem? Why would I bother seducing your men? Don't talk bad about Alice, either!"**

**Blood's eyes narrowed, glaring at the girl. "Because all of you outsiders are exactly the same, coming in here and making everyone fall all over you." Silence surrounded the room, Blood and Kiana intently glaring at one another. "Now, leave. So my men can **_**possibly**_** get some work done…" Her glare hardened, putting her hands on her hips.**

**"Is taking a break once in a while **_**so**_** terrible?"**

**"It's not a break when they're spending all their time with sluts like **_**you**_** and **_**Alice.**_**"**

**"I don't give a damn what you say about **_**me**_**, but you **_**will not**_** speak of Alice that way!" Kiana yelled, puffing her chest out. This caused Blood to laugh, leer soon returning as he spoke. "What can you **_**possibly**_** do about it, little girl?" The sound of slapping soon echoed throughout the room, causing everyone's jaw to drop. Blood and Alice mouthed off constantly, but never did she hit him.**

**"Alice! We're leaving before…" As though fate were playing a cruel joke on the girl, the time suddenly changed from sunset to dusk. Stars glistened in the dark sky, the moon playfully glowing in the middle of all the stars. An annoyed sigh came from Blood, brow twitching softly. "It would be more problematic to send Elliot to escort you home… Elliot! Take them to a guest bed room then return to your work ****immediately****…"**

**Elliot nodded as Blood turned and walked away. "It's just this way…" He started, turning in the direction of where they'd need to walk. "Screw that! We don't need to stay here!" Before receiving a conformation from her friend, Kiana was walking out the door. "Kiana!" Alice yelled, trying to follow. "I'll go get her… Just stay inside, alright?"**

**Elliot smiled towards her thus causing Alice's cheeks to turn a shade of pink. "A-Alright… Elliot…" She retreated inside, leaving Elliot to head forwards in attempts to follow Kiana.**

**Not too far from the Hatter's Mansion, Kiana was angrily walking along the path. "Who the hell does he think he is? I don't care if he **_**is**_** a mafia boss! That doesn't give him any special privileges! Stupid man…" Swinging her foot to kick a tree out of anger, she squeaked as someone grabbed it.**

**Kiana's POV;**

**"Whoa, whoa, whoa… You almost hit me there!" I heard as the figure held onto my foot. That voice… It sounded so familiar. "A-Ace? What're you doing out here?" Sure enough the knight of the heart castle came out of the bushes. "Hey Kiana… Didn't think I'd see you again! What brings you out here in the middle of the night? Don't you know that's dangerous?"**

**He had let me foot down as he walked out, growing closer to me until our noses were practically touching. I could feel his warm breath against my lips… "S-Sir Ace…" My cheeks grew a bit red as he chuckled. "You shouldn't do that, Kiana! You look so cute right now you might end up causing me to rape you… But I won't… **_**yet**_**."**

**"W-What was that?" I asked as the heat in my cheeks grew. "Nothing~ but yeah, what're you doing out here? Didn't Peter ever tell you it's dangerous to be out at night alone?" He was quick to change the subject… But I wasn't in the mood to be pestered by him, so I let him. "Um… I was on my way back to the clock tower…" He blinked for a moment before grinning.**

**"Is that so? Then I'll walk you there!" I squeaked as his arm wrapped around my waist, picking me up and slinging me over his shoulder. "S-Sir Ace!" "Nah, just Ace for you… 'sides you don't work there anymore!" He corrected me, walking along the path. "A-Ace… T-This isn't walking me there… This is carrying me…" I muttered, fidgeting slightly.**

**"There's a difference?" He asked, red hues looking towards me with confusion. I sighed, hanging my head before noticing something. "A-Ace! This is the way to the Hatter's Mansion! Go the ****other**** way!" He just grinned, walking further towards the Hatter's Mansion. "Nah, I know my way around Kiana! We'll make it to the clock tower in no time!"**

**Alice's POV;**

**I twirled the cup in my hands, my reflection glistening in the tea filled cup. I was worried about Kiana… She had been gone for a while and Elliot wasn't back yet… "I hope she's okay…" I spoke to myself. I didn't want to be here. I didn't mind Dee or Dum, or even being with Elliot… I did mind **_**him**_**. "Don't worry lady! I'm sure that blondie-chickie-rabbit will be back with her soon!"**

**"Yeah! Pissy hare may be a good for nothing, but I'm sure he'll find her!" Dee and Dum said, trying to cheer me up. I smiled softly, sipping the tea. "Yeah…" I didn't like how they were insulting Elliot, but I was more worried about their safety to yell at them for it. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. "Onee-chan? Elliot?" I asked, hopeful it would be the two.**

**I was soon greeted by red eyes and brown hair, Ace grinning like an idiot. "See? I got us here." Kiana wriggled in his grip, blushing as she kicked her legs. "I can see pretty lady's underwear…" Dee said, a pink crossing his cheeks. My face grew blue as I noticed how he was carrying her, over his shoulder so that when he faced us her butt did too…**

**"Huh? Oh wow…" Ace spoke, pulling her skirt up to see her underwear. "I never knew you liked red panties~" I could see Kiana's ears go red as she blushed, kicking and wiggling in his grip more. "What the hell? Stop looking up my skirt! Let me down!" He laughed, finally putting her down.**

**"F.y.i. this is the Hatter's Mansion, ****not**** the Clock Tower!" She yelled, hitting him on the head before walking over to my side. "F.y.i? What's that?" He asked while blinking. "For your information, stupid!"**

**"Aww… Kiana, that's not very nice!" He said, laughing lightly.**

**"I don't care! You're not very nice!" She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest while still blushing.**

**"How am I not 'very nice'?" Ace asked curiously.**

**"Did I miss something?" Elliot asked, just walking in to see Kiana and Ace yelling at each other. I giggled lightly, shaking my head. "No. They're just fighting like a married couple, it seems…" I could see Kiana's brows furrowing. "Me married to him? NO way in hell! We're not a married couple!"**

**"Aww! That stings my clock! You're so mean Kiana!" Ace said, pretending to be hurt.**

**"Go burn in hell!" Kiana retorted, blushing as she leered at the wall.**

**"Well this should be an interesting night…" Elliot said, arching his brow as the two continued fighting. "Yes, very interesting…" I giggled in agreement. In any other circumstance, I would have pushed Ace off, but it seemed Kiana had everything under control… For now anyway…**

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><p><strong>Author's Note;<strong> Hm, well, this was quite interesting wasn't it? I wonder what will happen next! O_e;

It kind of sucks that I don't have a computer at home with internet connection… I would be updating more if I did! Dx

Oh well, I guess. Here's a short little bit on the next chapter;

**Next up; Kiana, Alice, and Ace leave the Hatter's Mansion intent on returning to the Clock Tower… Well, with Ace's brilliant directions they end up going to the Amusement Park. What will happen when Ace says he's dragging the two to the Heart Castle after their fun at the Amusement Park?**

**Stay tuned~**

**(If you want xD)**


	5. Ace needs a compass

**Author's Note;** aldskjfalsk another chapter! What?

Erm...

Yeah... CHAPTER.

I have no idea what to say about this other than I kind of don't like it. xD Give me your opinions? PLEASE I LOVE THEM.

The sooner you do, the sooner I will be inspired to _write more!_

I'm working on a Durarara! one right now.

It'll be ShizuOCIzayaOC

Now, the question is, what do I mean?

You all know I mean ShizuoxOC and IzayaxOC =3= xD

-pats; Yes, now enjoy this and maybe later I'll put up a chapter for that. ;D

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><p><strong>Chapter Five; Ace needs a compass<strong>

**Ace yawned, covering his mouth with his hand as a tear formed in his closed eye. "Nnn... It's too early..." The male whined, stretching his arms above his head. Kiana walked beside him, leaning on his side to not fall over. "I know what you mean... but Blood demanded we leave as soon as sunrise came..." Not too far ahead of them was Elliot who was walking with Alice.**

** "Stop complaining... You can sleep more when we get back to the tower..." Alice spoke a bit grumpily. She too didn't like the idea of leaving as soon as sunrise came around... None of them would have been as bad but night hadn't lasted long, so they didn't get much sleep... "We can take it from here Elliot; you should go back before Blood yells at you..."**

** He frowned lightly, rubbing the back of his head. "A-Alright... I'll see you later..." He smiled lightly, saying a quick goodbye before heading back towards the Hatter's Mansion. "I'll lead the way!" Ace was quick to say, Kiana groaning as she continued to lean on him. "Just don't get lost..." Alice laughed softly. "That;s like saying your hair is white..." Another groan came from the ravenette forcing herself to stand up straight. "Nope!" He grinned and pulled her back to his side, making her lean on him.**

**Kiana's POV;**

** I groaned loudly as his arm was tightly wrapped around my shoulders. "Get off of me~ if you don't, I might have to kick you..." His eyebrow arched lightly, ignoring my threat and walking forward. I could hear Alice giggling softly. My brows furrowed in frustration. "Wha'cha' thinkin' Alice?" I asked as my tone was filled with slight annoyance.**

** "Nothing, nothing, onee-chan~" I gave a defeated sigh. She wasn't going to talk... The three of us got oddly quiet for a while, sighing as a bead of sweat rolled down my cheek as I noticed where we were heading. "This is the Amusement Park, Ace..." He briefly removed his arm from my shoulder, rubbing his chin as his brows were slightly raised. "Huh, what do you know...? It is! I was sure this was the way to the Clock Tower..."**

** I sighed, rubbing my temples before walking forward. "Well, since we're here let's enjoy ourselves~" Ace frowned and crossed his arms. "Nah, this is good for me, I wanted to bring you back to the Heart Castle anyway. ~" I squeaked as he reached to pick me up, barely escaping his hands. I shook my head as I started to run away from him. "No way!"**

** "Yeah... I'm not letting the pervert near my onee-chan!" Alice added before following after me. "Ki-Kiki, wait!" I just giggled before I felt myself collide into another being. My eyes widened, bowing my head. "S-Sorry!" I heard the figure chuckle. "Well hey there little kitten~" Boris greeted with a fanged smile. I blinked as I noticed it was only Boris, grinning at him.**

** "Oh, it's just the kitty cat. Well, sorry about that." We both turned to hear Ace laughing while Alice'' face had grown blue. "You've been hanging around Peter too much..." Alice said. I blinked and tilted my head, retracing the sentence in my head. "E-Eh! It's not like that! I swear! It was completely on accident!" Boris chuckled before interrupting me.**

** "Well, it's a good thing you came here. The old man wanted me to give this to you. He said he wants you to come whenever you like." He said while holding out two different cards, one being a free pass that was good for anytime I came, the other being a pass to get to the front of the line without waiting. "Cool." I grinned while taking them from him.**

** "Since we're not going back to the Heart Castle, let's ride some roller coasters, but only the really fast ones~" I blinked as Ace began walking into the Amusement Park, acting as though he were an invited guest. "You still have to pay." Alice informed him which made him stop. "Huh? Oh, I do, don't I? Aww, I was hoping I could get in without paying~"**

** I face palmed, groaning lowly before allowing my hand to return to my side. Eventually he paid and the four of us went inside the Amusement Park. The sounds of our squealing, or in Ace's case laughing while Boris laughed at some and stayed quiet at others, could be heard possibly through the park. "Alliiiccceee..." I said half through giggles, just getting off another ride.**

** It was one of those rides that spin, each little area holding four people, in which you can spin yourself along with the ride'****s spinning. Well, with Ace, we didn't really have to bother since he spun it fast enough that he even got slightly dizzy. "I can't see straight~" I giggled, clinging to the nearest human being. I heard faint chuckling.**

** "Whoa, Alice, when did you get so tall? W-Wait! You're not Alice! Aceee..." I whined trying to let go of him. However, every time I let go I could have sworn the ground was trying to eat my shoe... Stupid dizziness... Eventually we all sat down and were eating ice cream. "Gravity defying ice cream... Sweet." I said, licking the top scoop.**

** "I don't think I want to ride another ride for a while... Not with Ace, anyway..." Alice groaned rubbing her head as dread lines formed along her forehead. He only responded with a laugh, biting into his ice cream. "You should eat some ice cream, sugar makes everything better~" I said in a sing-song tone, giggling as I took a small bite of my ice cream.**

** "Maybe in a bit..." She groaned, laying her head on her arm. "There, there, Alice... It'll get better soon..." Boris said, trying to comfort her. Ace leaned close to me, looking at my three different colored scoops of ice cream. "What flavor is that on top?" He asked while pointing at it. I blinked. Swallowing the bite I had just taken, I responded, "Chocolate~"**

** His brow arched lightly. "Well I have chocolate and that doesn't look like chocolate, and what are those things inside it?" He asked, pointing to some of the cookie dough clumps. I giggled, biting into it again. It was so sweet and yummy~ "Chocolate chip cookie dough~ Duh~" A playful look crossed his face, grabbing my hand. "Oh? Let me try~"**

** Without allowing me to respond, he took a bite out of my ice cream. My jaw dropped. How dare he! My... my... My ice cream! "Hm, not bad." He said while laughing. "Boris, can you hold this?" I asked, handing him my ice cream. He blinked but nodded. "Onee-chan, what're you doing?" Alice asked, watching as I was soon chasing Ace.**

**No one's POV;**

** The trio soon found themselves bidding Boris farewell, walking off and away from the Amusement Park. "We're going to the Heart Castle, and that's final you two~" Ace cooed, leading the two in the wrong way... as usual. Alice sighed. It was evening and night could arrive at any moment... "We should hurry up, Ace, I think the Heart Castle's this way..."**

** The blonde tried to say, only to be waved off as though she hadn't spoken. "Hey! Idiot! You're going the wrong way!" Kiana groaned, not afraid to say such blunt things. He frowned towards her but continued forward. "No, no. I'm sure it's this way! I'll have us there before night time!" He said while giving his usual idiotic grin.**

** Fifteen minutes passed and both females groaned. Their feet hurt, they were tired, and more importantly they were lost. "Hey, idiot." Kiana piped up, crossing her arms over her chest, brow twitching in frustration. "Hm?" Ace asked, looking back to her. "We're lost, and it's night time. What was that about getting us there before night time?" Alice laughed nervously, not wanting to be in the middle of the two at the moment.**

** "Hahaha, oh wow! I didn't know it would change so quickly! Guess we'll camp out here for tonight." Dread lines formed on both their faces, watching him starting to put together a tent. "Where did he...?" Alice shook her head. "Don't ask. I don't think I want to know." He dusted himself off after putting together the tent, holding up two blankets and two pillows.**

** "Well, I only have two..." He began, trailing off to look at Kiana. "So looks like the little kitten and I will have to share. ~" Alice's brows furrowed, swiping a pillow and blanket from him. "Onee-chan will be sleeping with me!" A visible frown formed on his lips, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's only hot when you're _not actually_ sleeping..."**

** Kiana's cheeks turned a bright pink, leering at him. "H-Hey! Pervert get that out of your head! Besides, only Boris can call me kitten!" She tensed as his hand found its way to her face, forefinger trailing along her jaw as his thumb rested on her chin. Pulling her face up, he looked down at her. "Oh? Already have a soft spot for the kitty cat? Maybe I should kill him~"**

** Her cheeks grew red as she tried inching away from him. "What the hell Ace? Just get in the tent!" Alice yelled, hitting him with the pillow. He laughed as he let go of her, getting inside of the tent with the two. Kiana curled up with Alice on one side while Ace lazily rested on his pillow on the other side of the tent.**

** _"Please don't..." A teenage girl stared up at the older male. She was about fourteen while he was about eighteen. Both had black hair, the girl having bright cyan eyes, while the male had dull blue. "I have to, kiddo. I'll be back before you know it... Alright?" He smiled sweetly to the girl, resting his hand on her head. Tears that had been forced back for so long were now streaming down her face._**

**_ "Nii-san..." He crouched down, wiping the tears from her face. "Hey... You're a big girl, don't cry. This isn't a goodbye; it's a promise that I'll see you..._**

** Kiana nearly jumped out of her skin, eyes wide as she looked around desperately. "What the...?" Her attention was soon forced to the two around her. Alice was in front of her, clinging to her in her sleep, and Ace was behind her, his arms tightly around her waist. His head was nuzzled into her back, breathing slow and calm as though he were actually sleeping.**

** "You better be sleeping... Now I can't remember what that dream was about..." She groaned, nuzzling into the pillow. He had apparently adjusted it when he was still awake, the pillow he had now under her head while Alice had the other all to herself. It didn't bother her to share, but... she was too sleepy to do anything about it at the moment. Closing her eyes once again, she allowed herself to fall back asleep.**

* * *

><p>So... What do you think happened? o:<p> 


	6. Psst, that's a secret!

I huffed as we finally stopped walking. With Ace being our leader, we ended up heading back to the Clock Tower... "Should have known..." I said while rolling my eyes. Alice gave a nod in response with a small giggle. "Well maybe now we can go on our own... I've been meaning to head back there to talk to Vivaldi!" She spoke in a whisper, smiling.

Ace laughed as the three of us entered the clock tower. "Good morning, Julius~" He spoke. I blinked. Nightmare and Gray were no were to be seen... What was the only good thing about that? The place didn't smell! This was quite good... Since I wasn't in the mood to lose the little bit of food in my stomach. "Before we go, though, can we eat something? I'm starved!" I whined.

"Well, as much fun as it would be to join the two of you looks like Julius has some work for me~ I'll see you later little kitten." He said winking at me. I felt my cheeks heat up, brows furrowing. "Shut up! If you want to call me anything, call me Kiki." I muttered. It was bad enough that Boris went back and forth between 'Kiki' and 'kitten'... I didn't need him doing it too!

"Fine, fine. I'll see you later, Alice, Kiki." Before anything else was said, he was off. Alice started making coffee for Julius and something for me to eat. We _had_ been lost for... too long with Ace. I rubbed my temples, sitting on the couch. That idiot was frustrating sometimes! It never bothered me at the Heart Castle, but now it was worse! "Ugh..." I groaned and lied down while closing my eyes.

_The maid sighed unhappily. Peter had gone chasing after Alice, again. It would never be a problem... if he at least did his work! It was a problem when he left without bothering to touch the piling up paperwork... Carefully placing her hands around one of the red roses, she cut the stem and placed it in the small pile she had been collecting. Smiling at the bit she had, she sighed. "That should be enough..."_

"_What ya doing?" Ace asked, looming over her smaller built frame. "S-Sir Ace... This is making me a tad uncomfortable... I'm gathering some roses for her highness... Sir Peter left, again, so I have been doing work as every other maid does..." She explained, slowly removing the thorns from the delicate roses. "Is that so? Why don't you quit working for Peter~"_

"_What else would I do, Sir Ace?" She asked a bit sarcastically. There wasn't much else to do... She enjoyed working at the Heart Castle, so quitting wasn't in her thoughts... "Work for me!" He said with a laugh. Her brow arched lightly, turning to look up at him. "You're joking, correct?" He didn't seem the type to care for one specific faceless maid. She could be replaced just like everyone else..._

"_Nope. If you don't, I may have to just steal you from that thing~" He spoke darkly, completely contrasting the happy-go-lucky expression on his face. She stared at him in disbelief. "E-err... S-sir Ace..." He frowned at seeing her confused expression. "Well, I'd talk more about this but I gotta head to the Clock Tower. I'll see you later, Kiana~" As he walked away, she laughed nervously. "He bothered to remember my name? Maybe he is serious..."_

I opened my eyes again, staring at the ceiling. Ace has always been slightly clingy or bothersome for... a while. I sighed. It started just a bit before the big ball took place... I was lucky enough to not have to go. A stupid grin crossed my face, feeling accomplished for being able to ditch it. "Well, I would say your food's done, but you seem too happy to move~"

Jumping from the couch my grin grew bigger. "Nah~ just glad my food's finally done! I'm kind of looking forward to drinking some of Vivaldi's tea. It's wonderful~" I purred, skipping into the kitchen. It didn't take us long to eat a decent sized meal, finishing, changing clothes, and bidding farewell to Julius. "We'll see you later~"

**No One's POV;**

Kiana skipped along the familiar trail; her long raven hair loosely resting over her shoulders and down her back. Alice followed behind her, wearing her usual attire. Kiana, however, wore a white dress shirt with a black vest over top it, a black skirt around her waist with white stockings. "If you jump any higher, your skirt might fly up." Alice said teasingly. Kiana just pouted. "Shush~ I'm not jumping, I'm skipping."

It slightly amazed her to see her in a skirt... It wasn't usual, to say the least. She wasn't a 'tomboy' nor was she 'girly'. Kiana was always the type to wear what makes her comfortable; whether it be short shorts or men's pants. If it was comfortable, well... she wore it. "So, is your logic still; if I can't sleep in it, it's not good enough clothing?"

She asked with a giggle. Her cheeks puffed out, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yes! I mean I pass out randomly... What if I end up wearing like a choker, pass out comfortably on my bed, then never wake up?" She asked in a half panicked tone. "Why would you be wearing a choker...?" Alice asked, tilting her head. "I don't know! Just what if!"

Time flew by while the two talked, noticing the Heart Castle peaking over the top of the trees. Screaming could be heard from within. "Peter probably ditched work... again." Kiana spoke with a sigh. He never wanted to do work... he always wanted to see 'his' Alice. It was her Alice! Well, not quite in that way. "How much you wanna bet he's not even here?"

She asked with a giggle. "That would be nice..." Alice said, half hoping she was right. Then they wouldn't have to run into him... Stupid pervert. "Let's take a break. These shoes are killing my feet." Kiana whimpered. Alice held her hand over her mouth, stifling a giggle. "All right. Is here good?" she asked. Kiana nodded. The two sat underneath the nice shaded area of ground. It was under a large tree, the rays of sun seeping through the little bits of leaves covering their spot on the soft earth.

"So, Alice, care to explain how you got here?" Kiana asked curiously. Alice's blue eyes glanced towards her, head tilted. "Well, long story short; Peter kidnapped me, claiming to love me. Then he forced me to drink the 'medicine' as he called it. I'm just waiting for the vile to refill..." she explained. She fingered the vile that rest in her pocket, pulling it out to see it barely further than it was before. "How exactly did you get here?" Alice questioned.

"That's a secret." Kiana replied, winking. Alice pouted. "But..."

"Mm, but nothing, Alice! Well, I'm sleepy! Nap time." she said. Alice tilted her head, but didn't argue it further. Kiana rolled from her spot, laying down and resting her head on Alice's lap. "I'm not a pillow..." Alice laughed softly. "Shh! Stay quiet, or Peter's 'Alice' senses will tingle and he'll be here in no time flat!" Alice went pale, laughing nervously. "Yeah, let's try to avoid that..." Kiana giggled, closing her eyes.

'_Maybe one day I'll tell you about how I wound up in Heartland, but for now, you don't need to worry about that, Alice.'_

Not far off, a figure stood. Watching. Intently watching the two carelessly out in the woods. "Such silly girls..." the figure chuckled.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note;<strong>So...

What do you think?

GAAHH~

I've been on hiatus. LOL.

I'm trying. I promise. Don't fret. I'll try.

I really will. I REALLY WILL.

I SWEAR TO YOU.

...

Kay, maybe another chapter will be posted. If not, sleepy time~


	7. Roses are red, they are also blue!

Not long after Kiana finally woke up, the two were quickly on their way towards the Heart Castle. "Looks like we'll be staying in a different territory each night." Kiana giggled. Alice only laughed softly in response. The Heart Castle came very clearly into view, guards and maids walking about in front of it. "I wonder what's going on," Alice pondered. Her head tilted to the side. The staff did seem awfully busy, and not shorthanded like they usually did. _'That's a good sign, looks like Vivaldi isn't killing as many people.'_ the two both thought.

Greeting the servants of the Heart Castle, they found themselves soon inside. "From the time she should be having her afternoon tea soon. Usually she will wait for evening to set in, but on the few occasions where the afternoon seems to drag on unusually long she will have it a bit early. This way!" Kiana said, raising her arm as though about to march into battle. Alice shook her head, smiling as she followed. The hallways were long, and at times quite a bit confusing. "Your majesty, Miss Alice is here to see you."

The duo heard merely moments before making their grand entrance into the room where Vivaldi was indeed having her tea. "We see. You are dismissed, we will not be needing you any further," Vivaldi said. The maid bowed her head, scurrying off. "Please, sit. We are pleased you have come to visit us." she said, a warm smile crossing her features. A small pink crossed Kiana's cheeks, but ignoring it, she sat down next to Alice, who had placed herself next to Vivaldi. "We would have come sooner, but certain events have stopped us.

First Kiana had gotten sick, then Ace got us lost…" Alice explained, murmuring the last part. Vivaldi gave an irritated sigh. "He did, did he? We will just have to order his execution for when he returns." Briefly sipping the warm liquid in her cup, she soon turned her attention on Kiana. "We have been hearing much about you, Kiana, is it?" she asked. Kiana quickly nodded. "Yes, it is, your majesty," she responded, being so used to it after working in the castle for so long. Vivaldi laughed softly. "You may simply refer to us as Vivaldi, no need for formalities. As we were saying, we have heard many things being said about you.

Peter had informed us of another outsider, and Ace has not been around the past few days so we could not question him about it. Other than those two, we have only heard the murmurings of the servants around the castle. Being as we have been busy, we have not been able to leave to see if it were true or not. We are glad you came to visit, and we are _extremely_ pleased to meet you." Kiana's cheeks went a shade darker, nervously rubbing the back of her neck.

"I'm nothing special, really. I just…" she began. Her sentence was interrupted, Vivaldi yelling for one of the servants. "We are sure both of you must be very parched. Allow us to get something for both of you to drink. Would tea be all right?" she said. Kiana and Alice both looked towards each other, blinked, but nodded with a short 'yes' to Vivaldi. "Splendid! We will require more tea, bring two more cups as well."

The three continued to talk; it consisting mostly of Kiana explaining about her life, before and during her stay in Heartland. Vivaldi had grown in an even better mood as evening took its place so vividly in the sky. Though, as time stretched on, the two realized how hungry they were getting. A frown crossed Vivaldi's features. "As much as we wish to accompany thee, we must be off for we have much work that needs tending to. We shall have a maid prepare your food and alert you when it is ready. You may do as you see fit to keep yourselves entertained, until then."

They nodded, bidding her goodbye as she left to do her work. "She's usually pretty busy. Though, a lot of the times she starts to get annoyed and orders the king or some of the servants to do her work. She only really seems to stop when she gets extremely annoyed, or when you had come to visit. Aside from your visits, she just seemed to huff and completely walk away from it." Kiana explained, laughing a bit nervously. "I see. What is there to do until our food is ready?" There were a lot of rooms, but most of them seemed to consist of bedrooms.

"We could sneak into Ace's room and steal his things." Kiana suggested.

"But what if he's in his room?" Alice asked.

"Ah- good point. We could go outside? I know where some beautiful roses bloom," Kiana said, smiling.

"Well, I guess we could. Let's inform the maid in the kitchen."

"Oh, alright. Don't make her work," Kiana giggled.

The two quickly told the maid where they would be and were soon off outside again. The brilliant shades of orange, red, and pink littered the sky. It never ceased to amaze either of them. It was the perfect sunset, one where the colors would only disappear as night dropped down on them like a bomb. It was like when someone took a picture of a beautiful sunset, and could see nothing more than the amazing colors lining the horizon. Smiles crossed both their lips, staring up at it.

"Come on, come on!" Kiana giggled and laced her arm with Alice's. The two were off through the roses, staring intently at each one as they passed. "She has so many…" Alice sighed, awe-struck by the sea of colors in the rose garden. There were pure and untouched white ones, cute and innocent pink ones, seductive red ones, along with bright and cheerful yellow ones. "That's not even the best part!" Kiana grinned. After passing another set of yellow, Alice gasped. Kiana was right.

Before the two lay a few bushes of dark and saddening, yet beautiful, black roses. Just beyond them laid something more astounding, roses that consisted of not one color, but two! White and pink, red and yellow, black and white, the combinations were endless! "Wow. These are amazing. Do you think Vivaldi would be mad if we took a few?" she asked. Kiana shook her head. "I doubt it! There are more than enough to spare for anything we take. But this _still_ isn't the best part, Alice!" she giggled, dragging the female further.

Just in front of their eyes stood the most unusual colored roses, they almost seemed to be… "It's a rainbow!" Alice gasped, examining the multi-colored rose. "Uh-huh! I've been watching after 'em for some time! They're not exact rainbows, but they have all the colors of one. Cool, aren't they? Oh! In the rose bush, the same color combination never grows back in the same spot. For example, say this one, up here, gets cut," she began, pointing at a flower that spread from red in the center, to dark blue, to lighter blue, to purple, to dark green, to lime green, and finally finishing around with yellow, "it will not grow back in the same spot _ever_ again. If ten flowers grow _right_ there, it will never be like that."

Alice's eyes widened a little. "Really? That's amazing…" Kiana nodded, giggling still. "Yeah! _My_ favorite is just up here," she said. Beyond the rainbow-color-roses was a bush of bright eye-catching blue ones, that almost matched the color of her eyes. "Of course that would be your favorite." Alice laughed. Kiana's cheeks went red, pouting childishly.

"Oh, shut up. So, I just happen to know what I like. No big deal~" she chirped.

"I suppose."

"Anyway, what would you like? I heard, since it never rains unless it's in a particular season, they keep a pair of cutters around here. Let's look for them, shall we?" Nodding, the two set to look for the cutters. In almost no time at all, they found them and were successfully cutting some of the bright blue roses. "You know, I saw one back there that was blue and white. That would so fit with your outfit!" Kiana said, fiddling with the stem to remove its thorn. "I guess, just be careful, okay?"

After successfully tying two roses together, Kiana now had a rose bracelet, along with one in her hair, while Alice had the blue and white one in her own hair. They had returned not long after picking the roses, fearing for the approaching nightfall. "Ma'am! Your food is ready whenever you are, Miss Alice, Miss Kiana," the maid announced. Kiana grinned towards Alice. "Chow time, I suppose? Let's eat!" Alice rolled her eyes, following after her towards the table that securely held their plates on its top.

* * *

><p>In another part of the territory, a male slept soundly whilst in his own little dream world. But, despite his serene exterior, in his dreamland he was discussing things with a not-so-friendly-incubus. "The longer you wait, Ace, the more of a possibility it will become for her to leave. You want her to stay, don't you?" However, just as those words were said, his eyelids slowly opened before half-lidding themselves. The words echoed so loudly in his head, still. <em>'You want her to stay, don't you?'<em> Nightmare knew what everyone was thinking.

No, when Gray didn't happen to take away his crystal ball, he basically knew everything that happened there. He rolled over so he was flat on his back, staring upwards at the ceiling. A smirk crossed his lips. "You knew the answer, so why did you bother to ask?" Pushing himself into a sitting position, he stood from the bed he had been lying on. The smirk was soon replaced by a frown, noticing where he was. "I thought it was a bit odd seeing that I had to climb down, oh well. Peter's not here so he doesn't need to know." and with that, he was off.

* * *

><p>"Onee-chan, you're supposed to have your dinner before your dessert," Alice said with a frown, staring at the female who was desperately attempting to steal the plate she held above her head. "But, Alice, if I don't have sweets I might die!" She shook her head. "You won't die. Just eat and soon it'll be all gone, then you can have your cake." Kiana proceeded to pout childishly, eating her food as though it were a menace to society. "It's all your fault. If I didn't need to eat you, I wouldn't be having this problem in the first place…"<p>

Alice sighed, shaking her head. Her eyes soon widened, opening her mouth to talk, but not successfully being able to warn Kiana of the impending doom. A gust of warm air soon roughly blew against her ear, causing a loud squeak and the brightest shade of red to glow along her cheeks. Whipping her head around violently, her eyes soon landed on the male responsible. "Hey there kitten. Just came back for a nap before returning to Julius, didn't expect to see you here when I woke up." Ace grinned, promptly taking a seat next to her. "What the-?"

"What? I'm hungry too, you know~" he laughed.

Her cheeks continued to redden, going a shade towards a more realistic blood red, brows furrowed.

"Now, now little kitten~ the more you huff and puff, the cuter you look. Didn't we already have a discussion about that?"

Her mouth lay a gape, gibberish soon flying out in place of real words.

"E-eh? I-I'm curious to know what that conversation was about…" Alice said, laughing nervously, not sure if she truly wanted to know or not. Ace just smiled, ordering the nearest servant to get him some food before even bothering to speak to them again.

"Now that you're here, I need to find a way to make you stay," he said, frowning for a brief moment.

"Fat chance! I'm not staying here!" she retorted. She squeaked as his arm reached to wrap around her shoulders, scooting her chair further from him. "Stop doing weird stuff, you creep!"

"Kittens shouldn't bite the hand that feeds them~" he cooed.

"YOU DIDN'T FEED ME!" she yelled, cheeks lessening from blood red to a soft glow of red; whether her cheeks were still stained from embarrassment or anger, was a mystery to them.

"Don't be like that, I might have to drag you to my bedroom."

"The hell you will!" Alice came in.

Ace frowned towards her, but didn't say anything else. Instead he fiddled with something in his pocket. "So does this mean you give up?" Kiana asked hesitantly, afraid he might strike when she least expects it. "For now, anyway. I have other things on my mind." She tilted her head. Other things? What did he mean by 'other things'? Never the less, she allowed it to escape her mind. Her food was still calling her name so desperately. Both Alice and Kiana kept an eye on Ace, not sure what he might have been planning.

Little did they realize what he _had_ been planning. It never occurred to them what it might have been, let alone the _'pop'_ noise of a bottle being open was in any way related to it.

"Hey, little kitten~" Ace cooed.

"Call me Kiki." Kiana huffed.

"Fine, hey, Kiki~" he purred into her ear.

"W-what the hell is it?" she squeaked, face growing red once again.

Before anything else could be said, there was a flash of white.

"Mmff-!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note;<strong> So I got tired of being confused when a new part came about so I added one of those divider thingys. I hope this makes things easier for everyone. 3

Uhm...

Right! I am SO sorry about being so inactive on updates. ; u;

The problem is I need to write more. (I like having at least a chapter saved back for when I post one.)

Buuutt!

Even though my next chapter is not done yet, I wanted to share this little baby with you~

I hope everyone likes it. x3 _Now tell me what you think might happen next chapter!_

Ooh and send any ideas you may have for the future and they may somehow be included~3

**"Just keep making these cute little noises and see if there are any consequences~"**

**"No way, I am not wearing a dress even if I have to go. _I will not let Ace see me in a dress_!"**

**Boris tilted his head curiously. The last time he had seen Ace alone like this he was planning on killing Alice. What was he up to this time…?**

Just to let your minds wander.


	8. Mysterious and Suspicious Ace?

Kiana's eyes widened, feeling something warm against her face. A warmth quickly flushed through her cheeks, pressing harshly on Ace's chest and pushing him away. He just... She furrowed her brows. "What the hell was that for?!" she barked angrily. Ace replied with a simple 'hm' noise. "So that's what a kiss feels like~ a lot better than I thought it would be," he finished with a small smirk. Anger, frustration, and confusion were surging through her, grabbing a plate near her and tossing it and it's belonging's at the male ahead of her.

Ace could only blink as the pastry made contact with his clothing. "Kitten, why would you do that?" His tone of voice and facial expression were almost completely opposite one another. His tone sounded of amusement while his expression looked semi-confused. Her brow twitched, narrowed eyes leering daggers through the man's entire being. He was going to die and it would be by her hands. Well, he would die by being smothered by pastries... One plate after another went soaring through the air. He eventually picked up on this and began following her lead, laughing the entire time.

Before Alice could say or do anything to stop the two, she was desperately hiding from the flying food. In a flash of red, white, brown, and peach Alice saw everything slowly settle down. Kiana was lying on her back, in between Ace's legs, who was currently on top of her, both of their clothes covered to the point of almost being unrecognizable from the different food. Both female's eyes widened, Kiana's cheeks a soft red as she wiggled underneath the knight. "G-get off of me! Disgusting, filthy, pervert... Off!" Ace's red hues widened in thought, leaning close to her face so their noses were millimeters from each other. She could feel his warm breath against her lips, face heating up quickly.

"Hm? What's this? Is the little kitten blushing? Does that mean you liked our little kiss earlier?" He eyed her curiously, not budging. "N-no way in hell!" she protested, squirming violently underneath his body. "Silly kitten, you can't deny it~" he cooed, arms wrapping around her waist to pull her into a tight hug. She whimpered, embarrassed. "Let go of me!" He leaned his head further down, letting his breath brush against her neck. "Just keep making these cute little noises and see if there are any consequences~" Alice, over protective when it came to Kiana, balled her hands into fists. "Let go of her Ace!"

"That is quite enough." Alice's eyes widened, noticing that Vivaldi had come down recently just in time to see Ace's antics. A scowl was placed on her face, very displeased with her knight. Ace frowned, leaning his forehead against Kiana's shoulder. "Aww... Do I have too?" he murmured, barely audible. "Yes! Get on with your duties, knight!" Ace sighed, letting go of Kiana and heading upstairs. He was obviously going to get cleaned and redressed before going on to do his duties as the knight of hearts. Vivaldi scowled at the maids, barking orders at them to clean up the mess made by the two when they began arguing. She soon turned her head, smiling sweetly towards Alice and Kiana.

"Why don't the two of you go upstairs? You can get cleaned up and rest here for the night." Alice blinked, slowly nodding. Helping Kiana up, they briefly watched the maids start cleaning the remaining food on the ground. Alice took a hold of her hand, dragging Kiana up the stairs and into the bath room. It was large as most in Heartland were. It fit perfectly with the rest of the castle. It smelled of roses, live roses resting around. Some where in vases while some were resting on the ground, no stems attached to them at all. Kiana began peeling off her pastry-covered clothes.

"It's a shame Ace had to do that. All those pretty roses you gathered were ruined," Alice said, starting to take off her own clothes. "I know! That bastard owes me some new flowers!" Silence crept up as they put their dirty clothes in a pile for the maids, slipping into the rose smelling water. The days were beginning to pass so quickly... Kiana couldn't remember the last time she had a bath here. The warm water with the scent of roses was always relaxing to her.

**Kiana's POV;**

"_Have you heard?_"

It was one of the maids whispering outside.

"_No… What?_"

"_Her highness plans on throwing another ball…_"

Alice and I blinked, looking at each other.

"_Doesn't she only hold one a year…?_"

"_**Normally**__, but I over heard her making plans for it, saying due to recent events she wants to hold another!_"

The maids quickly stopped their conversation when they were called to do something. The two us were both quietly thinking over the subject. Alice was washing her arms while I dove underneath the waters in attempts to get the cake out of my hair. When I returned to the surface I felt Alice put shampoo in my hair and started washing it. It was nice...

"I wonder why all of a sudden she wants to hold another one..."

"Who knows... Wait... We don't have to go do we...?"

"Most likely, I was forced to attend the last one."

I made a choking sound and fell into the water.

"No, no, no, no, _no, __**no!**_"

I _dreaded_ just the thought of wearing a dress... I mean, it was rare to see me in skirts let alone a dress! I groaned and put my hands together in a praying manner. I muttered repeatedly, 'please'. Alice just laughed and continued lathering the shampoo in my hair. "I think you look pretty in dresses, though." I stuck my tongue out. I took a deep breath and went under water, washing the shampoo out of my hair. _Why... _My hands roamed through my hair, getting the little bits of cake and shampoo out. It was a pain having long hair sometimes... My eyes widened and quickly shut. _Stupid soapy water..._ I quickly resurfaced and gasped for air.

"No way, I am not wearing a dress even if I have to go. _I will not let Ace see me in a dress!_"

**No one's POV;**

Kiana and Alice eventually got out of the bath. They weren't quite sure when but a maid had left some night clothes for them to wear. Alice's was a silky blue night gown with matching undergarments, respectively. Kiana's was a fuzzy cyan night gown. It looked more like a winter jacket, with a hood and all, than a nightgown. Alice couldn't help but giggle while Kiana rushed to put it on. "It's so fuzzy~"

"Yeah, yeah~ Where are we going to sleep?"

"We're probably allowed anywhere that isn't taken, which is quite a number of rooms. How about we go... in this one~"

Kiana lead Alice to one of the empty rooms. They snuggled up into the bed and fell asleep soon afterwards.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile...<em>

The night crept up quickly and without warning as it usually did. Ace was currently speaking to Nightmare at the clock tower.

"You-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, rules n' stuff."

Nightmare leered towards the brunette but let him go with that. He didn't understand how he had lost the other one. He had given him _another_ short explanation and let him leave to do whatever he was planning. Ace casually left and went on his merry little way to work. There were some clocks that were calling his name~ About half an hour later Ace was in the middle of the woods, covered in blood as he collected some stray clocks. Boris', who had been playing cat-and-mouse with Pierce, ear twitched. He lifted his head to see the familiar figure of the Knight of Hearts. _What is he doing out here? _He thought.

"Such a simple little plan," Ace began, holding up a small container full of liquid, "but when should it all take place?"

Boris tilted his head curiously. The last time he had seen Ace alone like this he was planning on killing Alice. What was he up to this time...?

"I wonder how willingly the little kitten will take this~"

Kitten...? Wait, did he mean Kiana? He narrowed his eyes. What was he planning on doing to her?! He snuck off towards the clock tower. Hopefully she was there and if she wasn't Julius would know where they were...

The next morning came rather unexpectedly, but that was still no surprise for the workers and inhabitants there. Kiana was curled up cuddling most of the pillows that had been set down on her bed while Alice was sleeping on her back. Outside of their window sat a pink haired feline, carefully opening it. He was careful not to make too much noise or else the maids might run in afraid that someone might be breaking in. Boris sighed. The two looked safe and that was a good sign.

"Kiana..."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note; <strong>

Yeah! An Update! Isn't that amazing?! I think it is... Erm, anyway! Sorry about the disappearance lack of a computer and internet is a huge bummer. I've got some MAJOR ideas in mind now, so I am hopefully going to be kicking myself into over drive to write them all out. (I got a huge idea that isn't for like at least another two chapters. ./sweat drop; )

Anyway! You know the usual, I like hearing your ideas of what's going to happen next or what you want to happen next. (I do take everyone's ideas into consideration, I love hearing them. ^^ Plus they may give me ideas. For example; LifeOfA_FallingStar gave a review on chapter seven. Some of the ideas are _very, _I mean eerily, similar, but there are some that I may use. ^^ So giving credit to them because they'll know the things that they suggest. xD Even if I planned it out already!)

**"It's easy access! What if like Ace tried to rape me or something?"**

**"Can we help pick out your bathing suits?"**

**"Ace?! What the hell?!"**

K, I'm done teasing you all. ;D


	9. A dip in the pool!

Boris quietly tried to wake the female up again, but to no avail. His ears drooped. He fully pulled himself into the room. It would have been bad if he were caught sitting on the windowsill by one of the guards. He propped himself comfortably around the room, making sure he wouldn't be too easy to see if a maid happened in, but had a good eye on the door just in case something _else _were coming through...

An hour or two later his ears perked up. It was combined effort. The sound of the fabric of the blanket moving was one reason. The second was that he had a plan to keep Kiana away from Ace... for a while, at least. "Nn," started off the squeaky yawn that soon disrupted the silence. The feline perked up a bit to see that she was finally awake. "Huh?" Her sleep ridden eyes turned to look at him more clearly. "Boris? What're you doing here?" His tail gave a swish while a toothy grin played over his features.

"I came to see you.~ It's been a while since you visited the park." He stood up while his ears gave a small droop accompanied by a pout. Before she had time to respond, the other sleeping beauty soon awoke. "Huh?" The ravenette couldn't help but giggle. "Yeah, about how I was when I woke up."

**Kiana's POV:**

I shifted myself to sit in a better position. Although I enjoyed my nightgown, it was short and I would rather not flash my panties to anyone this morning. Sadly, if I had my choice I would have picked out a shorter version of the nightgown with matching pajama pants. "So you came all this way just to see us?" I asked, tilting my head curiously. He nodded. "I was hoping we could hang out at the amusement park for a bit. You two both have all access to the park, so why not?"

Alice proceeded to look in my direction. I shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't be too bad," Alice spoke. Boris gave a Cheshire grin and nodded. "Right! I'll wait for you to get dressed then we'll head to the amusement park." He walked out of the room to allow us some privacy. We shared a glance and giggled. Our other clothes hadn't been washed, so we were given spare clothes. Alice's was similar to her regular dress, however in the appropriate colors for the Heart Castle. My own attire was made up of a plain white t-shirt and a frilly black and red skirt.

Both Alice and Boris could see the dread written all over my face as I walked out. "I am so glad that you can't capture any type of memory of this," I growled to Alice. She proceed to smile and walk along side me. Boris was on the other side. "You look good in anything, so I don't know why you worry." I whimpered and leaned on her. "It's easy access! What if like Ace tried to rape me or something?" I quietly waited for her answer. "I won't let him," said Boris and Alice in unison. I glanced between the two of them before giggling. "Well, it's nice to know that I have two people concerned~"

Boris' cheeks turned a soft pink and Alice just hugged me in response. Since we weren't stuck with Mr. No sense of direction, we got there rather quickly. I was actually amazed at how quick it was. Curiosity peaked as I glanced around at all the rides. It was something I had heard a while ago. "Is it true that there's a pool here?" Boris' ears twitched before turning back to me. "Huh? Yeah. We only really use it in the summer, why?" My eyes grew big, like a child staring at a toy or pastry they desperately wanted. "I wanna swim..." I pouted, crossing my arms behind my back.

"If the lady and pretty lady are swimming, we want to swim too!" All three of us whipped our heads around to see who had spoken. Not far off were Dee and Dum. I smiled softly. It may have been not long ago since I had seen them, but with the way time was one could never truly tell. Unlike our world, there wasn't '10 o'clock', '11 o'clock', '3 o'clock', or anything like that. Here they had morning, noon, afternoon, evening, night, and midnight. It was likely maybe something in between midnight and morning, but not much further. So it was a bit more difficult to guess the exact time between things.

"Elliot, Dee, Dum, how are you?" Alice had a small twinkle in her eye as she looked at Elliot with a sweet smile. A smirk crossed my lips. If I had been like Boris, my tail would be swishing. Naturally, I would tease her about it later, but I was polite enough to not do it in front of the person themselves. "Well, it's not like it's cold, I guess we could ask the old man." A light bulb lit up in my head. "Let me do it! I'm sure he wouldn't be able to say no~" Alice giggled. "She _does_ give very convincing puppy dog eyes." Boris laughed and grabbed my hand, leading me off to where Gowland was.

**No One's POV:**

Alice smiled as Boris and Kiana disappeared into one of the buildings. "So, Elliot, how are things going? Blood isn't being too hard on you, is he?" Elliot's ear twitched, a small pink rising in his cheeks. He scratched the side of his face with his forefinger. "Nah... not really... He's been in his garden a lot..." She blinked. She remembered the garden very well... Did that mean he was talking to Vivaldi a lot more now...? Perhaps he just wanted alone time? One could never tell with Blood...

"Lady! Pay attention to us and not the stupid hare," said both Dee and Dum, pouting. Elliot's brow twitched, giving a small grunt. "She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to." Her eyes widened, waving her hands back and forth. "Now, now. We don't need to get into any kind of argument..." The sounds of fast approaching footsteps echoed loudly until an abrupt stop. "He said yes!" Kiana yelled, grinning happily. Dee and Dum cheered in like happiness, the group following Boris to where said pool was. It was large and from the numbers on the side, it went down to twelve feet.

There was currently a large blue cover hiding it's contents. Though there was an obvious sign that it had been cleaned at least daily, no mold sat on the bottom of the cover and the water looked like it had just been put in. There was a diving board at the deep end of the pool and two slides. One was set in the four to five foot area, while the other was set on the opposite side in the six to seven foot area. Just outside of the pool area was a dressing room along with an area to choose from whichever bathing suit was available. That was, if one didn't bring their own.

Along the sides of the pools consisted of tables with umbrellas, lounging pool side chairs, and floaters of various shapes and sizes. Alice's and Kiana's eyes were widened, looking around the pool. It was so nice and well put together! "Can we help pick out your bathing suits?" Dee and Dum asked innocently. Both pair of blue eyes glanced towards the opposite, sighing in unison. "I guess, but you have to get out when we change." They nodded happily and ran into the room that held the bathing suits.

The girls disappeared into the same room as Boris and Elliot went into the opposite gendered side. "Should we really trust those two along with them?" Boris asked. He picked up a pair of pink swim trunks and began changing. "They may be perverted little shits, but they aren't terrible. After all, they still want both of them to like them," Elliot explained, picking out a pair of deep purple swim trunks. He laughed, shoving his clothes into a pile in one of the lockers. "Oh, I get it. Because if they did something to upset them, they wouldn't be forgiven, right?" Elliot nodded in response, both heading just outside to wait for the girls.

Inside of the other section Alice and Kiana were gazing through the endless sets of bathing suits. The two had been going through the two piece sets that were available, curiously holding them to feel the fabric and see the size. The elder version of Dee soon appeared in front of Alice, pressing a bathing suit close to her. "I think this would look good on you." Dum took a similar approach, appearing behind Kiana with the bathing suit in front of her, stating practically the same thing.

Their faces burned with embarrassment and slight anger, shooing the boys out before actually looking at the bathing suit. "Ne... Alice... I hate to say it, but I think they're right..." The one she held was duel colored of soft blue and cyan. It had frills which were soft blue while the entire make up itself was cyan. The one Alice held was a blue one as well, one that matched her nicely. A small pout formed on the blonde's lips. "I hate to agree, but you're right..." They sighed and changed into the bathing suits, neatly putting their clothes away before leaving the changing area.

Boris' tail swished behind him. "Come on!" he shouted with a grin. The Cheshire cat ran into the pool area and grabbed one of the water guns lying around. Dee and Dum, both with childish shock mused over their face, followed suit and all three quickly got into the water to get their ammo. Kiana gave a soft smile, holding the sun screen up and starting to put some on. While it was different, it could never be assumed that the sun would quickly go away. The sun was still sun and she was still destined to get burned if she wasn't careful. Alice was obviously thinking along the same lines, rubbing it in along her arms.

"Hey Ellio-" "Alliiicce! Can you get my back?" She couldn't help but give a small giggle, nodding and rubbing the sun screen onto her back. A quick thought ran through the ravenette's mind, giving a small smirk. "Elliot~ I think Alice needs some sunscreen on her back! Make sure she doesn't get sunburned?" The blonde's face turned red, staring at the back of her head as Elliot's eyes widened and ears stood straight up. "Um, yeah, sure..." Alice tensed at the cool feeling of Elliot's sunscreen covered hands. She was going to get her back for this, somehow...

After the awkward moment ended, they all found their way into the pool some way or another. Alice was relaxing in an inner tube with Elliot not far off to make sure she didn't get in the middle of the mess at the deep end. Dee and Dum were often using the slides, going down them as a protection against themselves from Boris' water gun. Kiana was going back and forth between floating and being thrown in by Boris or jumping in with the twins. Alice quietly watched as Kiana was floating at the top of the blue water. Her hair was fanned out like a mermaid's was in a picture or something. The scene soon changed as she left the water. "Kiana will make a good mom one day," she told Elliot with a smile. His purple hues glanced up at her. "Why do you say that, Alice?" he asked curiously.

"See how good she is with Dee and Dum? Yes, she scolds them when they do something wrong, but she goes out of her way to actually play with them when they're doing or being good..." He watched as Kiana let Dee and Dum swing her into the pool. She returned to the surface, laughing happily and reaching for Dum's hand. However, when she got hold of it, she dragged him into the pool. "Oh. I see what you mean..." Alice smiled sweetly and got out of the inner tube, only to be hit with a beach ball.

"Sorry, lady! We are going to play ball, want to join?" Dee apologized, smiling. She nodded, the two joining the other four. Dee, Alice, and Elliot were on a team, while Boris, Kiana, and Dum were their opposing team. They kept up the water fun, eventually switching to a short lived game of chicken. Suddenly the time changed from morning to night. Everyone gave a small frown. "Aww, does that mean we have to leave?" Boris shook his head. "Nah, we can stay a bit longer. The old man put lights into the pool since we're busy all hours of the day." Moments before the lights came on, a large splash sounded through the pool, causing everyone to shield their eyes.

"What the hell? Which one of you jumped?" Elliot leered towards the twins, accusing them of being the ones responsible. They shook their heads. "We've been in the pool the whole time," they explained. The ravenette let out a small barely audible squeak before being pulled underwater. Her eyes burned from the chlorine in the pool, finding it difficult to see the person through the brightness of the pool light. Whoever they were, they didn't seem to be any threat... If they wanted to drown her, drowning themselves wasn't exactly a method of killing another. Above the water, Alice was beginning to worry.

"Where's Kiki?" Everyone responded with similar 'um' answers. They hadn't heard anything suspicious or seen her get out of the pool. Boris' ears lay flat back, leering at the figure he saw holding onto her underneath the water. "She's underwater, she's coming back up." Just as suddenly as the morning turned to night, the night turning to evening. The golden rays of sunset appeared just in time for Kiana to return to the surface, flipping her hair back so it wouldn't stick to her face. "Ace?! What the hell?!" Alice's brows furrowed.

"Are you trying to kill her?" Ever since her experience with him threatening to kill herself, she was slightly on the edge around Ace. She minded less for herself and more for her sister-like figure since she appeared. He did seem to be drawn to her like a puppy to its mother. "I wasn't trying to kill her, just have some fun," Ace laughed, his arms comfortably around her waist. Kiana didn't attempt to move from him. A slight realization had come over her, which probably scared her more than him mysteriously pulling her into the pool. This scene made Boris leer towards the brunette further. What was he up to?

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

Um, wow, two updates in two days...? I'm amazed with myself. Hopefully this will make up for the long absence from before and possibly long one once my muse to write withers.

What's going to happen next? I wonder~ (Chapter 10 _is _written, however, I always wait because I like seeing what I have written before to compare to what I am writing next. This method greatly helps when I lose internet and such. :/ But hopefully I will be able to write a few more chapters in the next few days as I wait for my GED scores~ ;_;)

_Next time;  
><em>"A-Ace...?"  
>"Shh, just go back to sleep~"<em><br>"Big... brother..."_

"Someone's blushing~"  
>"I am not!"<br>"What're you doing slacking off, knight?! We're in preparation for a ball! We have one week to get everything prepared!"

"Speaking of nightmares, I can hear him moaning and groaning from here."


	10. Work? Why would you need to work?

The water activities eventually ended as the two outsiders grew tired. Gowland _insisted _that they stay there fore the night. Being too tired to argue, they agreed. Everyone, except for the twins, had their own room. They lie comfortably and most, if not all, were heading deeper and deeper into dream land. Kiana, in particular, was having a rather interesting dream... It didn't involve Nightmare and it seemed less like a dream and more like reality... It was odd, to say the least.

* * *

><p>"<em>Ne, Matty, we should do something!" The figure that stood in front of the male referred to as 'Matty' looked like a younger version of Kiana. Her hair ended at her shoulders exactly. She was even at least a foot shorter than her current self. A smile was plastered brightly on her young features. The black haired blue eyed male smiled. "Another nickname? But I do agree, we should do something." He ruffled her hair playfully.<em>

"_Matthew is so boring... What should we do?" Her cyan eyes looked longingly at him. Matthew picked up the smaller figure and held her close, smiling as she giggled happily. "We could play dress up? We could also be pirates. What about a tea party? I think mum's making some." Her eyes widened in thought of all the ideas he had just spat out. "What about we... dress up __**as **__pirates! We're British pirates, so to stop for tea is totally fine!" He couldn't help but smile wider as she quickly found the best combination of all suggested items._

"_Alright, let's go see what we can put together, hm?"_

* * *

><p>There was a soft stirring in her bed as she dreamt. A soft whimpering was muffled in the back of her throat. It wasn't until a minute later did anyone worry about her. In the dead of her sleep, tears were sliding down her face, pained murmurs and whimpers. There was even a soft scream at one point. Her nails dug into her arms, the pain growing worse the deeper she went into this scene. She couldn't pull herself out of it no matter how hard she tried... It wasn't until a soft warm touch caught her attention.<p>

Someone was holding her. Her heavy eyelids slowly opened. "A-Ace...?" The brunette smiled at her, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "Shh, just go back to sleep~" From there everything turned back into a blur, only the soft presence of his lips grazing her skin to let her know he was still there. She didn't quite understand why it was so easy to fall back asleep... Then again, she didn't even know what caused her need to wake up in the first place. "_Big... brother..._" she breathed softly, nuzzling into whatever she lay on.

* * *

><p>"Well, isn't this unusual?" It was obvious to tell from whom the voice had come. It was the dream demon, Nightmare. However, the other usual figure hadn't been quite so usual. In place of one now stood two figures. Alice and Kiana stared at Nightmare, not amused. "Why are we here?" The dream demon shrugged his shoulders, floating around as he usually did. "Who knows? I didn't decide to have a party and requested both of you for tea. Though it does seem something interesting will be happening very soon..."<p>

Kiana crossed her arms over her chest. "What do you mean?" His smirk was inevitable as he floated upside down. "Oh, it's nothing." The blonde sighed. "If it's nothing, then why are we here?" His gray eye looked curiously at the two. Well, it was silly of him to think they would know what was going on while they slept~ He adjusted himself so stood up straight while he floated. "It seems Kiana had a rather interesting dream. So much so that the night of the heart castle had to awake you from it." They shared a glance.

"Ace was in my room?" "Still in," he corrected. "Then what are you just floating around for?! Wake me up!" Nightmare laughed at the fuming female. "I'm afraid it doesn't quite work that way. However it does appear that Alice is waking up." It was true. In the bedroom next to Kiana's, Alice was getting out of bed. Her brows furrowed angrily as she marched into the neighboring room. "Ace! What the hell are you doing in here?!" The brunette lifted his head lazily, staring at Alice with sleep ridden eyes. "Huh?" he half yawned in response.

"What're you talking about- oh, hello little kitten~" Her brow twitched at the dumb grin plastered on his face. "Get out!" Ace pouted. "I'm not doing anything wrong~ besides, _she's _the one cuddling _me_." Another sleepy head poked their head into the room, brow arched. "What's going on?" The two looked at Boris. "Ace won't get out of the room!" His ears lay flat back, a very not-amused look over his features. He then proceeded to pull the knight out of the bed, replacing where his figure once was with a pillow that lay nearby.

"Alright, alright, I'm leaving," Ace finally murmured after hitting the floor with a dull thud. She returned to her own room once Ace had left, Boris heading off to his own to polish his guns in the bit of downtime. It wasn't too long later until Kiana finally awoken. The previous day, or at least before she went to sleep, had been so exhausting from the long hours of swimming that she forgot about taking a shower. Which running her hands through her hair gave her a clear reminder. Luckily there had been a bathroom connected to each guest room. A nice warm twenty minute shower had her fully awake and feeling clean.

"I'll have to thank Alice," she hummed, noticing that Ace was definitely not there. She began pulling her clothes on and blinked towards the door. It didn't take her long to finish putting on her clothes, opening the door to see Alice leering at Peter. "My sweet! You're in for a royal treat~" She sighed with her arms crossed. Peter's antics had always been a little irritating, but now that she saw what he did outside of the castle, she didn't quite understand why she worked for him. "Ah! Kiki! You're finally awake!" Alice announced contently. Peter's sorrow showed through the drooping of his ears.

"Ahem, I am here on behalf of her majesty, queen Vivaldi," Peter explained in a dejected manner. He pulled out two cards and handed them to the appropriate person. Each was an invitation to this new ball that would be taking place. Alice sighed, knowing that her fate had been sealed when the ball was even rumored to take place. "I'll go," she responded. Kiana, on the other hand, was more reluctant. "No. I refuse~" The two stared at her with mild confusion. "No?" She shook her head. "No, I won't go." Ace snuck behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist with his head nestled against her shoulder. "Why not? You're not the faceless little maid anymore, so you can't just say no and not expect consequences~"

Her cheeks flushed with a soft pink, tugging and pulling at his arms. "Let go," she whimpered. "Someone's blushing~" "I am not!" Peter smacked him on the back of the head. "What're you doing slacking off, knight?! We're in preparation for a ball! We have _one_ week to get everything prepared!" That was the last they saw of the two of them, disappearing off towards the Heart Castle.

"You two get back to the mansion," Elliot told Dee and Dum. The twins pouted, attempted to argue, but soon found themselves heading back to their duties. "Want me to take you back to the clock tower?" The ravenette shrugged, giving a small murmur of 'sure, why not'. Alice disagreed. "We need to get our clothes from the heart castle." He just smiled, ears perked up. "I'll escort you there then head back to the clock tower. I wouldn't want you to get stuck out here at nighttime, that's the worse time for the two of you to travel..." He wasn't being sexist, but rather concerned. It wasn't the people he worried about, since they didn't much take favorites.

It was the animals that wandered. Plus neither of them were armed, so it gave a higher chance of getting into trouble. If one of them had at least a knife, it wouldn't be so bad... "It'll probably be quick," Kiana spoke with a kitty face. "The last time the ball was held, Vivaldi rarely cared who came in and out so long as preparations were right and on time. Though I do want to take a bit to talk to her, if that's alright." They all agreed and headed off towards the heart castle. It was a fairly quiet walk for the ravenette, watching Alice and Elliot chatter the entire time. She seemed to really like him and she was happy for her. It must have been a nice feeling...

Her own thoughts wandered off onto Ace. How exactly did she feel about him...? She was usually the one doing the pushing, but did she honestly want him away from her? An unnoticed sigh escaped her lips, staring at the lightly clouded sky. "Kiki~" Alice cooed. She came from her little thought bubble and stared at the blonde. "Huh? Oh, we're here," she laughed nervously. "Sorry..." The trio made their way into castle and to where the laundry was kept. The clothes they had first arrived in a few days ago were neatly folded and piled separately from the maid's regular clothes.

"Alright! To Vivaldi~" They made their way quietly to where Vivaldi was, watching the hustle and bustle of the preparations being made. Not a single person was given any time to rest. It was no question as to why this was. The castle was always decorated as beautifully as it could be made to look for the single night occasion. It never failed to 'oh' and 'awe' the crowd. "I would like to speak with Vivaldi," Kiana said to one of the guards. "Your highness, the foreigner would like to speak with you..." Vivaldi waved her hand, allowing the group to come to her.

"Vivaldi," she started out sweetly. "I have a teeny tiny request." Her purple hues gazed to the dark haired foreigner. "What is it?" She smiled. "Well, I've never really liked the foreigner idea because I feel like I'm freeloading... So, I was wondering if I could work for you again? I don't really care what work you give me or the salary versus what work I'm doing... I would just feel better if I get to work and support myself again." Alice thought over what she was doing. If she _too _got a job, then she could help Julius a little more at the clock tower.

"Could I as well, Vivaldi?" The queen of hearts thought over their odd request with a smile. Her lips soon returned to the straight form they had been in moments ago. "We shall allow you to work here under one condition." They gave each other a glance before returning their gaze upon Vivaldi. "We have heard of your refusal to partake in our upcoming ball, therefore we offer that in exchange for being allowed to work here, you must come to it." Her eyes widened, not believing that she was hearing what she thought she was. To prove she was, she pinched herself. "Yup, I'm not dreaming. But, I..." "That is our offer."

She gave a defeated sigh. "Fine, I will go." Vivaldi allowed a smile to return. "Excellent! We will be expecting a dance with you during that time." They left, heading back to the clock tower with Kiana hanging her head the entire time. During their walk back Alice tried to cheer up the other. "It can't be so bad..." She leaned her head on her shoulder, sighing. "Maybe... but I need to work in order to get a dress... Plus I hate wearing dresses. This is a nightmare." Elliot's ear twitched the closer they got to the clock tower.

"Speaking of nightmares, I can hear him moaning and groaning from here." Kiana crossed her arms with a pout. "He's got the right attitude, unless... Gray's just preventing him from spying on everyone again, then he's hopeless..." They quietly stared upwards, a bead of sweat rolling down their faces. If the second choice was indeed the reason then he was hopeless. "Well, I've got to get back to work. I'll see you at the ball, okay?" Elliot spoke, smiling to Alice. She nodded and the duo made their way up the stairs. "Julius helped me with mine, maybe he can help you with yours?" Alice suggested. "I dunno, maybe. I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask him," she replied with a shrug.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note; <strong>

Soo... What do you think will happen next?

I know~3

But anyway, the next chapter is long enough for me to consider it two chapters. I'm not going to put it up and if I can put it up before I lose internet, I most certainly will. (Like I said, I want to get another chapter written out.)

_"Oh, so you're going to stay for A-" "I'm going to see if they need help in the kitchen!"_

_"Because you actually thought you looked good in the dress, didn't you?" _

_"W-well… since this is a ball and all, um… would you like to dance?" She smiled sweetly at him. "I would love to."_

_"You didn't need to force it on her!" he growled._

_"I said go away!" she barked._

_(Cut short to not reveal too much)"What if I'm willing to stay here…? To stay… with… you," her sobs over came her little huff._

_"Goodnight, Kiki~ " he hummed, closing his eyes._

_Things were looking nice..._


	11. The Ball!

"Ugh," came the brief murmur before loud hacking. Gray was ushering Nightmare to sit down, handing him a napkin. "Well, this is a lovely sight to walk into," Kiana commented. "Shut up," Nightmare hissed through his coughing spurt. She looked at him with widened eyes, soon pouting. "We haven't seen each other for how long and that's all you've got to say?! Are you _okay_?" He rolled his eye, dabbing his mouth and sitting up properly. These fits always took a toll on his body, so he would probably be stuck there for a while.

"Liar, you don't care if I'm okay." Her pout turned into a simple frown, hands on her hips. "That isn't true! I do care. It's just," she finished in a hum. "The only time you're truly quiet is when you're having one of these fits~" He stared at her, not amused. "When do you ever stay quiet?" She held her forefinger in the air, waving it around as she spoke. "Unlike you, I cannot go into people's dreams, therefore I cannot bother them almost 24/7." He rolled his eye once more. "Touché," he responded, tired of her quick responses. Alice looked at the group and thought for a moment. "I'll make us some lunch!"

It only just occurred to her on how hungry she was... "I will help you, Miss Alice," Gray added. The two disappeared into the kitchen to leave Nightmare and Kiana alone. He was currently lying down across the couch while she took a seat in the nearby chair. "So, what do you plan on doing?" Her eyes gazed in his direction. "What do you mean?" He gave a soft laugh, amused that she hadn't thought of this before now. "Well, you're not exactly stuck here like Alice is. What do you plan on doing? You could leave, if you want. However, in order to do that, you must partake in the game." Her brow arched, looking at the dream demon as though he were insane.

"Game? You don't mean like what Alice had to go through, do you?" He nodded to her question. "That's exactly what I mean. That is, if you want to even go back," he responded, already reading her thoughts of confusion on the topic. She sighed, not even bothering to remind herself that he was listening in as she thought of her decision. Did she want to go back? Why would she want to stay? She tapped her fingers on the arm of the chair, annoyed that he had brought up such a topic for her to think on. She enjoyed being there, but didn't she need to return home? ... _Didn't she? _A smirk crossed Nightmare's lips, hearing her thoughts.

"Oh, so you're going to stay for A-" "I'm going to see if they need help in the kitchen!" She jumped up from her seat and skipped into the kitchen. He sighed and looked in her direction, talking whether or not she heard him. "You may be able to hide it from everyone, but denying it from yourself isn't a very smart move, Kiki."

* * *

><p>In the Heart Castle, Ace was walking around and <em>once in a while doing what he was told to<em>. He took a wrong turn and blinked once he entered his own room. "Whoops, ah well. It's boring out there anyway," he muttered and went into his room. Kicking his shoes off, his coat soon joined the floor with a soft thud. He slid his hand into his pocket, pulling out a small vial and setting it on the bedside table. It was the exact same vial as the one Alice held on her at all times. "You have to play the game, but that doesn't mean you have to finish it."

He smirked, thinking of how he was going to get her to drink it. He was nice, he'd at least ask first. But should he just hold the vial to her or should he take a different approach? He was willing to admit that Peter's choice of approach was rather appealing. He _did _enjoy their last kiss. A sigh escaped his lips, crossing his arms behind his head. "I've got a week to think it over. Vivaldi won't let me out of the castle if it's the last thing she does," he laughed, rolling over.

* * *

><p>"Just stand still, no need to be so tense," Julius sighed. "Right!" He clapped his hands in a similar manner as he had done with Alice when she was in need of a dress. A sky blue dress formed around Kiana, forcing her to stare at it in awe. From her waist up was more of a form fitting type. The edges of the fabric clung as low down as her collarbone and around her shoulders. The sleeves ended in the middle of her forearms. Lower, from the waist down, the dress started to 'poof' out so to say. The entire dress had a soft glistening glittery shine to it.<p>

Her shoes were now one inch high heels in a matching blue color. White gloves covered her hands, a blue ribbon tied around each with a small blue gem in the middle of the top of her wrist. Her cyan hues stared unbelievingly into the reflection before her. "It's beautiful," she gushed out, turning to see how she looked from all angles. "Right, just don't get it dirty. The ball's in _two days_." She nodded, assuring him that nothing would happen to it. Alice smiled and grabbed her hand, pulling her into her own room to take it off.

"See? What did I tell you? Though I think Julius just created a miracle." She started carefully removing the dress, hanging it up neatly in the closet and hiding the gloves in the drawer with the shoes. "What do you mean?" she murmured, digging around for something else to wear. "Because you actually thought you looked good in the dress, didn't you?" A soft pink crossed the ravenette's cheeks, pouting as she pulled on her tank top. "So? It's a once in a while thing. Just 'cuz it doesn't happen often doesn't mean it won't _ever _happen." She just shook her head and smiled.

"So, what do you want to do to pass the time?"

"We could harass Nightmare?"

"He's still mad from the last time."

"... We could go bother Gowland?"

"He's trying to convince Vivaldi to let him play the music for the ball."

Kiana cringed at the thought, pulling her pants on before returning her thoughts on thinking. They had two days to kill, well about a day and a half now. What could they do to waste away the hours? After about ten minutes of trying to think, she whimpered and curled up in her bed. "I'm just going to nap for now. I'll try to think of something while I nap!" She finished with a toothy grin.

* * *

><p>Elliot sighed heavily. "Come on you two!" He growled at Dee and Dum. If it wasn't for them they would be on time, but <em>no<em>, they just _**had **_to get their knives and hammers. "We won't have anytime for silly nonsense relating to that." He leered. "He's right. There won't be any _playing around_," Blood added in. Although his tone was harsh, the twins knew how to get around this little rule. They pouted lightly but followed along after the two, wondering how long it was going to take.

* * *

><p>"Well yah sure do look spiffy!" Gowland grinned to Boris who barely even noticed him. Peirce's ears twitched lightly, looking at the feline who still hadn't moved. "He's been like that for a while now." Boris' ear twitched each time they spoke, hearing them but not responding. His mind was far from the Amusement Park. He doubted that he would ever trust the knight of the heart castle. That was why he was worried. Ace was never one to prolong something, so if he did it for a reason, he had been planning it for today. Whatever it was, he had to stop it.<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>Finally,<em>" came from the figure as a smirk played along their lips. The brunette stuffed the small vial into his pocket and headed out of his room. It was finally the day and he was certainly going to do it; _one way or another_. His smirk widened as he grew closer and closer to his destination. She was not here yet, he knew this, but it didn't mean he couldn't _patiently_ wait for her.

* * *

><p>The ravenette's eyes widened, staring out at the large crowd with a combined mild look of shock and horror. How did she honestly get herself talked into this? Here she stood, the ball readying to start, in a dress, and absolutely no way to get out. She gulped, licking her lips. <em>The door! <em>She had taken so long in her mild panic that when she finally turned to look at the possible exits, they were closed. Just her luck. Her eyes followed Vivaldi as she stood in front of everyone to announce the opening of the ball. While doing so, she scooted along until she was virtually becoming one with the wall.

There was the slightest tap on her shoulder, forcing her to nearly fall over with a loud squeak. "Y-yes?" she questioned, turning to look at the new figure. Behind her stood Boris in his suit, smiling with a swish of his tail. "Sorry about that, didn't mean to freak you out." She started relaxing, smiling. "No, sorry. I'm just kind of nervous with big crowds... I also don't like being in a dress." He blinked, ear twitching. "Why is that? I think you look fine." Crossing her arms behind her back, her smile grew. "Thanks, Boris. Anyway, did you need anything?"

"Well, if you're not busy a dance would do," he responded with a cheeky grin. She couldn't help but reply with a smile. "I'd love to. I've never danced before, but if you don't mind that then I guess we're fine!" He nodded and took her hand, pulling her out towards the dance floor so they could begin their dance. Not long later the twins interrupted, both older forms holding onto one of her arms. "We're cutting in," the duo said, sticking their tongue out. "Now, now, I'll dance with both of you in a minute, alright?" The two pouted but nodded, saying they'd be around when she was ready.

* * *

><p>"So you're not stuck in the tea room?" Alice asked teasingly with a small giggle. "Blood said I could be out here if I wanted... I also think he kind of wanted to be alone, but who knows," Elliot replied with a shrug. Dee and Dum were already off causing trouble and bothering the faceless people who were dancing. It grew momentarily silent between the two, a soft pink rising in Elliot's cheeks. "W-well... since this is a ball and all, um... would you like to dance?" She smiled sweetly at him. "I would love to."<p>

* * *

><p>Across the room a figure was making his way through the crowd. An unknown, to the crowd he was moving through, determination driving him. She <em>needed <em>to be apart of the game and it would be his job to make sure she got _stuck_ within it's confines. Now the little game of cat and mouse would begin. Where was she in the sea of faceless? It wouldn't be hard to make out who she was when he got nearer to her. Those eyes he would be able to recognize in the darkest of rooms.

Kiana glided along with Boris, giggling as they talked. "So, what do you call-" "Oh! I'm sorry, sir," she apologized, blinking as she noticed who it was. Boris frowned as Ace ran his forefinger softly along her cheek. "You look beautiful," he said causing her cheeks to turn red. "What do you want?" A small smirk crossed the brunette's lips, laughing. "Is the little pussy angry?" The feline's eye twitched with a soft growl. "A-Ace! Whatever it is, you can do it in front of Boris, right?" she asked with a soft smile, trying to calm the storm before it came.

The knight gave a small pout but soon smiled again. "Yeah. I got you this drink-" "I'm not really thirsty." He blinked at her quick response. "Well, I tried, bottoms up," he spoke mostly to himself, taking most of the liquid from the vial into his mouth. He grabbed her face and pressed his lips against hers rather forcefully. He then wrapped his arm around her waist, holding one of her arms with his now free hand. "!" Her cheeks flushed red, struggling to get out of his grip. Boris' tail frizzed out. "Ace! What the hell are you doing?! Get off!" When Boris finally got Ace off, it was too late, he had forced her to drink the entire thing.

"Why would you... Ace," her voice was shaky as she spoke. Something stung her eyes, forcing her to close them briefly. A loud noise echoed in the ballroom, a large red hand print now staining his cheek. He tilted his head, eyes widened. Before either Boris or Ace could say anything, Kiana was running out of the ballroom to who knows where. "_Why _would you do that?!" Boris hissed. He shrugged his shoulders. "If anything, this is the only way she'll be able to return home. I'd like to think I did her a favor," he responded, even if he never planned on letting her leave.

"You didn't need to force it on her!" he growled.

* * *

><p>There was the soft crunching of grass underneath shoes. Kiana didn't care where she was going, she just needed to get away. Eventually she found a gazebo somewhere within the maze. It was covered in roses and there was a stone bench underneath it. The cool touch of the bench made her flinch, but it was relaxing. She curled up on it and whimpered softly, pulling her knees to her chest.<p>

* * *

><p>"Did we hear yelling?" Alice asked, reaching where Ace and Boris were standing. Boris leered towards Ace, then looked at Alice. Ace just turned and started to walk out of the ballroom. "Since <em>he<em>," he hissed the word, "won't tell you... He forced Kiki to drink that weird liquid Peter made you." Her eyes widened. "Why would he?" Elliot's purple hues looked between the two. "Something about 'returning home', I dunno..." She sighed and ran out, heading going to look for Kiana wherever she could find her.

Elliot and Boris joined in on the search, knowing that it'd be easier if the three of them were looking. Ace, on the other hand, was getting himself lost in the maze. It was only when he got lost did he truly find where he was going. He was hoping that this would end up taking him to wherever Kiana had scurried off to. If not he would probably just search around like the others were. He noticed a blue through the rose bushes lining the maze. Well, now he wouldn't need to. _Just over the bush and... _He smiled to see the female curled up before him underneath the gazebo.

"Kiki," he spoke softly, trying not to startle her. Kiana lifted her head curiously, soon leering at the figure who stood before her. "_**Go away**_," she hissed. He frowned, holding his hand out towards her. "Kiki..."

"I said go away!" she barked. Tears glistened along her pale skin in the evening sun. Ace took a step back, surprised by her sudden outburst. "_Why _did you make me drink it? Nightmare already explained! If I want to go home I have to play the game! What if I don't want to go home? What if I'm willing to stay here...? To stay... with... _you_," her sobs over came her little huff. Covering her face with her hands, she sobbed silently. It hurt. She felt like he was trying to throw her away. She didn't _need _to go in the game... A small gasp sounded out in the silence, a warmth flowing over her as Ace pulled her against his chest.

"You don't have to leave, if that's what you want. Alice even has that choice." His voice was soft. It was a tone she had never heard before, nor did she think he could muster it up. It was nice... "So, I don't have to leave...? I can stay?" He nodded. She inhaled sharply, tightly wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He stroked her back, trying to calm her down. Shifting his weight, he made it so he was sitting on the stone bench and she was now in his lap.

"You don't ever have to leave, if that's what you want," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her. For the first time since he first kissed her, she did not push him away. Instead there was a soft sensation as she deepened the kiss, holding onto him tightly. He snaked his arm around her waist, his free hand running up her back. She shivered under his touch, deepening their kiss, nipping softly at his lips. He took a moment during her nipping session to slide his tongue across her lips and into her mouth, waiting to see if she was comfortable with it. A bit hesitantly she leaned into the kiss, moving her hands to run her fingers through his hair.

In the midst of their passionate kissing a figure came from around the bushes. "Kiki?" The tone was loud enough for someone to hear her but soft enough for the two lip locking to not notice it. Alice's eyes widened, soon clearing her throat and leaving the two to their business. She walked past Elliot, staring down at the ground. Tilting his head, his ear gave a twitch, noticing the glum look shadowing her. "Is something wrong, Alice?" She quickly pulled her head up, smiling at Elliot with closed eyes. "No, just a little tired. I think I'm going to stare here for the night." He blinked, frowning as she disappeared into the Heart Castle.

About ten minutes later Ace pulled back, cupping her cheek gently and staring into her eyes. Panting softly, she stared back at him, eyes glazed over. He gave a slight smirk at this look, running his thumb up and down her cheek. "What did I tell you about being cute? Anyway, I think we should get back in. Don't wanna sleep out here." Her eyes widened, looking around and remembering where they were. She shook her head in response, clinging to him as he stood up. He held onto her tightly, carrying her into the heart castle and somehow managing to find room without too much problem.

He went inside and held her closer, kicking his shoes off and pulling hers off. "Ace... I don't want to sleep in this," she whimpered, finding it to probably be a rather uncomfortable experience and not wanting to ruin the dress. He blinked, setting her down on his bed. He turned and started to dress down for the evening. "Here you go," he grinned, handing her one of his shirts. Her eyes went from the shirt now in her hands to him, blushing. "A-Ace... I kind of need some privacy to change..." He tilted his head. "Does it really matter?" He asked in a not so innocent tone, causing her to squeak and quickly explain to him why it _did _in fact matter.

The brunette pouted but agreed. He turned around and allowed her some privacy to change out of her dress. While she _did _look stunning in it, he was waiting for something even better. She was bound to look a whole lot hotter wearing _his _clothes than that silly old dress. "O-Okay, I'm done," she finally piped up. Turning around, his red hues met her cyan ones once more, smirking to himself. He was right. Before she had time to question his expression, she felt him snuggling into her frame, already comfortably underneath the blankets. "Goodnight, Kiki~ " he hummed, closing his eyes. "G-Goodnight... Ace..." She still felt a little odd with this, but it felt nice. It was relaxing to know that she didn't have to keep her feelings bottled up inside anymore. She curled up against his frame, falling asleep rather quickly with this new found comfort that rushed over her. Things were looking nice...

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note;<strong>

_I'm allowed to not update because that counts as two chapters._

Not that I don't want to but that took a lot out of me to write, anyway. That's that. She didn't really confess, but they do definitely know about the others feelings~  
>I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS BUT;<br>When I was writing(and every time I read) Ace saying 'Finally' all I think of is My Little Pony. "Finally the moment has arrived, for me to be one lucky bride." xD

Next chapter;

_Leaving the comfort of the bed she lay in, she went to the window and opened the thick curtains. Wait… This wasn't where she was when she fell asleep. _

_"W-What the?! Peter! Get off!" _

_"I'm not quite sure, she just kind of… disappeared." Both stared at him, not believing what he was saying. "What do you mean, just 'disappeared'?" Ace questioned the dream demon, a rather displeased look on his face._

_"Where's Alice?"_

_"Who?"_

_"You know, the other foreigner…?" _

_"You are the only foreigner here, Kiana."_

_From the angle she could tell it wasn't Ace's bed… Her face paled at the sight before her._


	12. What in the world?

The _morning _always started the same for Kiana. There was an unfamiliar warmth surrounding her body as she slept, snuggling into the other figure that held her tightly but comfortingly. Morning was always the same in this case whether it was actually morning or not. She normally woke up sometime when the sun was shining, whenever that happened to be in the crazy wonder land. Slowly her eyelids began parting, showing her the bright- She blinked, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness she had not expected. It was still nighttime? She shook her head, there was no way that it was still night.

Leaving the comfort of the bed she lay in, she went to the window and opened the thick curtains. _Wait…_ This wasn't where she was when she fell asleep. Her head whipped around to see who exactly was in the bed she had been so cozy with just moments ago. In place of the brown haired red eyed knight who always got lost was the black haired blue eyed Mafioso, who she could have sworn hated her. Her mouth hung agape, eyes widened, watching as the said Mafioso stirred with a soft murmuring. Of everything that was wrong with this scene he was worried about it being too bright? The curtain fell from her hand, looking for something suitable for pants and leaving.

"Something's not right, I know it." She was now just outside of the hatter's mansion, crouching down and rolling up the pair of pants she had taken from Blood. Naturally they were too big for her, she was lucky enough to have found a belt to even keep them on. Her mind started wandering. Where could she go? Where was Ace? "Brilliant!" She ran off in the direction of the heart castle as fast as her feet would carry her. The entire time she was murmuring 'please let him be there'. The little games of cat and mouse Ace had played with her when she was a maid paid off, she arrived a lot quicker than she had expected.

Once inside, she felt a pair of arms tightly grasp her within their grip. She gasped, about to relax before noticing it was Peter who had jumped on her. "W-What the?! Peter! Get off!" Small hearts floated above his head, snuggling into her frame. "My love! You have returned to me~ *" She felt she could have never been more confused in her life. His love? What in the name of Nightmare was he spewing out of his mouth?! "Excuse me? I just came here to see Ace!" A rather menacing look gleamed in the rabbit's red hues. "Oh? Then I'll just have to kill him so you won't think about him ever again!"

Her brow twitched, smacking him on the head. "_Don't you __**dare**__!_" she hissed. His ears drooped, rubbing the bump that had formed from impact. Already out of breath, very confused and slightly exhausted, she huffed, pressing her hands to her hips. "All… I want to do… is see Ace…" He held onto her, leading her to a chair before barking at one of the maids to bring over a glass of water. Seconds after it was delivered the contents were gone. "Just take me to see Ace, please?" There was almost a pathetic look in her eyes as she begged him. He agreed; although he loudly commented on how he would rather her spend time with him.

"Ace!" She felt her heart rate pick up, rushing to the door, now standing beside Peter as he emerged from his room.

_**Ba-bump.****_

He… "Yeah, what's up Peter? Oh, if it isn't the little kitten~" Peter's brows furrowed. "Don't call her that! Don't even address her! You don't even deserve to talk to my love, but for some reason she's insisting…" She swallowed, staring at the figure with disbelief. The Ace she saw standing before her had blonde hair and stunning emerald eyes. This wasn't… No. She turned on her heel and bolted out of the castle, not caring where she might end up. "Look what you did! You chased her away!" Those were the last bits she heard before she could no longer hear them. Her heart was racing, beating so loudly it echoed violently in her ears.

Was… anything normal? First she woke up in hatter's mansion, _in Blood's bed_, then Peter apparently loved her, now Ace looks nothing like himself? What about Dee and Dum? What about Boris? What about Alice…? Alice, the clock tower- Nightmare! Quickly examining her surroundings, she turned and started off in that direction. If anyone knew anything it was bound to be Nightmare! She panted, tears stinging her eyes as she ran as fast as she could. He had to know something, right? He'd know how to fix it, too… Right?

There was a soft stirring under the sheets. Ace's room had never looked so messy before. He was hardly ever in it, which explained its slight neatness. The light blue dress poked out from the half-closed closet, his own clothes lay scattered along the floor, and part of the blankets were coming off the bed. Ace stretched his arms out, eyes slowly opening. He had a long nice sleep and was refreshed for the morning. He was so relaxed and happy, although his way of showing it was different than others, that he didn't mind doing whatever Vivaldi had prepared to ask of him.

That was because of- He blinked, looking at the empty space before him. Where had his little kitten gone? He pulled the blankets off of himself, heading out of his room to look for her. He walked into the kitchen and frowned. "Not here." He wandered around the castle, soon entering every door he passed until he found Alice, getting ready to leave. "Alice, have you seen Kiki~?" Alice's eyes widened, blinking. "I thought she was with _you_." A somewhat series expression crossed over the brunette's face, replacing it with his usual smile. "No. I woke up and she wasn't there."

"What? Where could she have gone?" Alice half-dreaded the look that once more replaced the usual expression Ace held. It was a serious almost sinister look. Before she could suggest anything, he was off looking for the ravenette. She left the comfort of the room and went looking for any of the nearby role holders. "Vivaldi, have you seen Kiki?" The queen shook her head, asking what was wrong. "I'll explain as soon as I find out." She, too, was now on her way around Heartland, trying to find where Kiana was or if anyone knew. The two somehow ended up at the clock tower, Ace looking rather menacing.

"Nightmare, do you know where Kiki is?" He blinked, looking towards the knight. A small smirk played on his lips. "Did you lose her already?" Alice got in between the two before anything happened. "Now isn't the time to fight. You know of everything that happens here; do you know where she is?" The incubus shrugged his shoulders, sipping the tea that Gray had prepared for him. "I'm not quite sure, she just kind of… disappeared." Both stared at him, not believing what he was saying. "What do you mean, just 'disappeared'?" Ace questioned the dream demon, a rather displeased look on his face.

"It's exactly as it sounds. One moment she was in bed with you, the next she was gone." His expression continued to grow sour, soon turning and heading to leave. "Wait, isn't there anything you can do about it? There must be _something_, right? Can't we figure out something we can do to get her back? She couldn't have gone home… So she must still be connected to here?" Her eyes darted from the knight, who had momentarily stopped, to the dream demon. He shrugged his shoulders, looking at her with his good eye. "I'll see what I can do, but I'm not entirely sure."

Kiana panted as she finally arrived at the clock tower. Her eyes stared at the stairway she now had to climb. "_Great._" If she ever thought she wasn't exercising enough, she was sure making up for it today. This place wasn't as easy to get around as it seemed. There was quite a distance from the mansion to the castle and from the castle to the tower. _She was also running the entire time._ Her lungs felt like they were on fire. She didn't even notice the aches and pains pulsating through her body. She was too focused, far too focused to care about such a silly thing. "Just… a little… bit more…"

She forcefully made her way through the opening, panting as she stood in the doorway. "Night-mare?" Her eyes widened and jaw dropped slightly at the silver haired figure before her. That wasn't Nightmare, was it? "Hm?" came the feminine response. She could feel her hair standing on edge. Nightmare was a girl?! This definitely wasn't her world… "Where's Alice?" She questioned, hoping to get a response. The female dream demon blinked, looking at her as though she had gone mad. "Who?" Her eyes widened. "You know… the other foreigner…?" Nightmare shook her head, sipping the tea in her hand. "You are the only foreigner here, Kiana."

"That… can't be…" She took a step back, running straight out and back down the staircase. Nothing was normal in this place. Where had she gone too? She wasn't dreaming, was she? After exiting the clock tower, she pinched herself. "Ow…" No, she wasn't dreaming. Where could she go? If three territories were weird and different, there was no point in seeing if the amusement park was any different. She somehow ended up in the middle of the woods, collapsing as her body finally gave in on her. In all the time of her running, there was at least three time changes. Now it was night time. "_Great,_" she muttered with a soft laugh. She was stuck there. She could barely even get her hands to move.

The longer she struggled to stay awake, the more her body went against her. Finally she could no longer keep her eyes open, passing out almost immediately after they closed. A figure loomed not far off, growing closer and closer to the sleeping beauty.

"Ugh," groaned from underneath the blankets. Kiana opened her eyes in the pitch dark. Was she dead? If she was dead then why was she in so much pain? It was hard to even breathe… There was a soft relaxing noise of 'shh'ing. Normally she disliked it when people did this, but it was at the right tone and pitch to be quite relaxing. Her eyelids started drooping again. _Shouldn't I at least see who it is? See if everything is back to normal? _She lifted her head ever so slightly upwards, pulling the blankets down. From the angle she could tell it wasn't Ace's bed… Her face paled at the sight before her.

"Oh? You're up, good morning, dear."

Author's Note;

I apologize for not being able to separate as I have begun doing in the recent chapters. My current predicament is that I may not have internet at home until November or possibly later. This is why I separated the varying parts with a '~' as you have seen demonstrated in this chapter. I'm currently stuck on mobile, but, I am still able to upload to an extent. Lucky me! I suppose.

Also, thank you for your reviews, follows, and favorites. uwu It does mean a lot to me, it really does! I wanted to say that thanks to my bit of absence, I have a few chapters written. I'll most likely post another one or two before I get internet back. (I only have three more written and working on a forth at the moment, so I'm allowed some slack, right?)

I know this chapter seems a little… weird. Plot bunny-san sparked up out of no where. Thanks to austriantatious and LifeOfA-FallingStar for the bit of help working through said plot bunny. (This chapter is about how much they knew, so don't feel bad.)

LONG AUTHOR'S NOTE IS LONG I'M SORRY.

I just wanted to finish with; if you want to add any little bit into anything, go right ahead. (Suggestions for an event, drabble idea, etc.) Events don't have to be thoroughly explained to work out, either. Drabbles can go either way, suggestion for the long run or a little extra I add in. (Like when I'm writing a chapter and someone suggests a drabble for… let's say the ending of Alice and Elliot's date; I'll write out a ltitle bit for them. :3 ALSO IF YOU WANT IT TO BE A DRABBLE PLEASE BE SPECIFIC. If you give me 'date' it'll turn into the size of the usual chapter's I post. _Unless _that's what you want, but otherwise… Also, keep it related to the characters in the story. Like don't ask for a Blood and Kiki cutesy scene or Alice to kiss Julius. I can make a separate story for a compilation of one-shots, but that would only be if enough people liked the idea.)

* It's supposed to be a heart, if it doesn't appear u_u;;;;;;;

** what I personally think of when I hear dramatic heart beat effects. :3

Preview for upcoming chapters;

(This is generally in order, but not quite specific. I ill not be reusing previews in future previews. So, nyeah. XP No hints!)

"_That isn't true!" she growled at the bodiless creature._

"_Believe what you want~"_

_She instinctively would have gone to Nightmare, but she had a feeling that something connected the damn dream demon to it. Both of them._

"_Why don't I want to kill you? I can't stand you, yet… I want you close to me. This doesn't make any sense!" _

_Blood was being as helpful as ever, refusing to join the search. _

_It reminded her of before anyone realized there was another outsider. I kind of miss those days- Her eyes widened._

"_Oh? So if I kill him in this world, will he die in that world?"_

_Ace smiled, holding onto his sword with deathly intent._

_He saw something that not even she was willing to fully admit to herself. Strong emotions that were impossible to hide._

_She nodded, resting her head in his lap. He smiled, gently stroking her hair. _

"_My, my, what're you doing wandering off on your own?" The voice sent chills down her spine, shivering in the unknown figures grip. _

_Before even a thought of making noise could occur, he had her pinned underneath him._

_Her lips brushed against his in her confused and emotional state._


	13. Confusion

"_Dear?_" Kiana questioned, nearly choking as the word came out. The man who stood before her was the leader of the mafia and well known mad hatter. Why on Earth was he calling her dear?! "What's wrong?" He walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching out his hand. She flinched, preparing for him to hit her or something, but soon relaxed as he gently caressed her cheek. Something was definitely not right with this picture. Despite all of this something inside her helped her stay calm. Her cheeks flushed, suddenly losing her balance and falling onto him. "It does appear that you have caught a cold, dear..."

"Great," she murmured, relaxing and allowing herself to fall asleep against the man. Blood quietly helped her get comfortable once more, tucking her in, then leaving and ordering one of the maids to look after her. He let his mind wander off as he walked out of the room, quietly thinking over things. "I wonder why she was gone this morning..." Although it wasn't unusual for her to just disappear; it was unusual for her to just up and leave while he was still asleep... He lurked his way into his library, sitting down and looking at the pile of paperwork that needed to be done. His mind was far from paperwork.

"_Only one..."_

_Kiana whipped her head around trying to find the origin of the voice. It seemed to not exist._

"_Only one outsider may be happy while another is around..."_

"_What?"_

"_You don't think Alice is honestly happy with you being there, do you?"_

"_But..."_

"_She isn't. All of the attention has been on you since you appeared. She's just 'the other foreigner'."_

"_That isn't true!" she growled at the bodiless creature._

"_Believe what you want~"_

_She gritted her teeth, feeling as though if she grinded them any harder she would grind them to dust. Whoever this person was, they were definitely trying to get on her bad side. It was working. She would find them and kill them._

Suddenly the ravenette awoke, gasping while she looked around. Kiana dug around on her person, soon pulling out the tiny vial that forced her to stay in this place. It had a little bit of liquid at the bottom; _very little. _Wait, could that mean she wasn't even connected to this psyched out and crazy one? From the sounds of it... She had been 'here' for a while. Coughing, she crawled out of bed. She had to find Blood. If her theory was correct, then everything about this world was flawed. "Ma-ma'am!" squeaked one of the maids, helping her along to the library where Blood had his nose buried in a book.

"U-Um, s-sir, Miss Mariveil came to see you," the faceless maid squeaked, hoping that the Mafioso was in a good mood. He leered, however, for once it wasn't at the maid herself. "Bring her in," he sighed, closing the book he had been reading. She nodded and brought her in, ushering her to sit down on the couch. "You may leave," he dismissed the maid. She shifted a bit uncomfortably on the couch, having a feeling he was displeased with her. He sighed. "Why did you come here?"

"U-Um, I feel like I'm starting to forget some things... Could you explain to me?" His brow arched, looking at the female with concern. He walked over and sat down next to her, looking her in the eyes. "Do you remember how or about when you got here?" She shook her head. He blinked. It was unusual to say the least, but with her being sick, he wasn't putting much thought into whether it made sense or not. "Well, Peter dragged you down and both of you landed near the clock tower. He forced you to drink 'some medicine' as he told you." She quietly stared at him, taking it in. That was how Alice said she had gotten here. Hers was much different... "O-Oh! I see."

"Are you still feeling a bit fuzzy?" She nodded. This didn't look good. It seemed that running around yesterday on top of having a cold was really affecting her. "After that you scurried around the territories. Eventually you decided to stay here at the mansion, then we..." Her eyes widened at this interrupted sentence. "Boss? Huh? Oh, sorry, am I interrupting something?" It was Elliot. He over all looked the same, as Blood and Peter did, except... Dread ran over her expression, noticing a clear pair of dog ears. Did that mean he ran around saying he was a hare not a dog...? This world was starting to get more confusing the longer she stayed in it.

"Give us a moment, Elliot." He nodded and quickly got out of the room, soon leaving the two alone yet again. He gave her a sweet smile, reaching up and stroking her cheek very gently. "Do you remember what happens next?" She shook her head, looking at him with heightened curiosity. He allowed a sigh to escape his lips once more, replacing it with a soft smile soon after. "Some time after that, Peter, angry with your decision, attempted to drag you off to the Heart Castle. He was _claiming_ you as his own," he paused, having a slight displeased look as he stated it. "You told him that you didn't love him and that you loved someone else. You returned here and told me how you felt. We've been dating since."

Kiana paled at hearing this. _That's _why she was in his bed?! A natural, despite being forced, smile spread across her cheeks. "I see! Well, thank you for reminding me." He nodded, kissing her forehead and returning to his desk. "If there's anything else you need, just tell me, alright?" She gave a quick 'mhm!' and went off to the maid who helped her return to Blood's bedroom. Her mind was quickly wandering away. Her first thoughts were on who she could get to believe her if she told them. "I should go after anyone who still has the same personality... If it's different then it may cause them to not believe me..."

She instinctively would have gone to Nightmare, but she had a feeling that something connected the damn dream demon to it. Both of them. She was going to give him an earful the next time she saw him. She ran her fingers through her hair, thinking over what to do. So far Elliot seemed to be normal, Vivaldi... She would have included Peter but he was now obsessed with her so... Perhaps Dee and Dum? It was then a crash sounded in the room, a blonde standing in the broken shards. "Huh, how did I get in here?" A familiar smile crossed her face. This idiot seemed to be the same.

"Um, Ace, how did you get here?" He turned to look at the ravenette, blinking. "Where is here exactly?" ... "The hatter's mansion. You didn't know that?" He looked around with the new found light and laughed. "Oh! I didn't recognize it until the wind blew the curtains open." She shook her head. Would he believe her if she said anything? Her eyes widened as he grew close, body being more familiar with his touch than she would have liked to admit. His hand rested on her cheek, looking at the pink painted over her skin.

"A-Ace? What are you doing?" He frowned but replaced it with a smirk soon after, his hand never leaving her cheek. "You don't belong here. I can't quite explain it, but something's different and wrong. Normally I can't stand you, but..." His warm breath grazed her lips, soon pulling away at the sound of footsteps. "M-Miss Kiana! We heard..." If the two had eyes, their eyes would have been as wide as dinner plates at the sight of the blonde. Ace just blinked, looking at the two maids who had arrived. "What? Do I have something on my face?" He laughed. She looked between the maids and the man who stood next to her, a thought quickly rising.

"A-Ace got lost! But he heard that I wanted to return to the heart castle for a bit, so I was wondering if maybe he could take me?" The maids muttered about how they needed to discuss the matter with Blood. She nodded and quietly waited. Would he actually agree to it...? She swallowed nervously when the maids returned. It had taken quite a while for them to discuss it... "He said that it was alright. We shall be escorting you there, however." A smile crossed her features, quickly explaining that it was alright since Ace always got lost.

On the way to the heart castle, Kiana was being pushed in a wheelchair by one of the maids from before with Ace by her side. A short sneeze interrupted their silence, Ace tossing his jacket onto the sickly female. "Ya need to keep warm." A soft pink crossed her cheeks. She knew that this was wrong and for some reason he hated her guts, but... he was acting and talking as though he actually cared about her.

Blood had been watching the knight carefully ever since he left the mansion. Something was up with him and whatever he was, he didn't like it. If he planned on hurting Kiana again, he had another thing coming. "Dee, Dum. I want you two to watch Ace and Kiana. Make sure not to lose them from your sight." They nodded and responded with a 'yes boss!'

Peter's ears twitched, leering daggers at the knight as he entered the main hall. "How dare you show up late! The queen should have your head!" His anger and yelling slowly stopped at the sight of Kiana. Her sights, however, were on Vivaldi. It appeared as though she still had the same personality, her hair and eye color had changed to be the same as her _dearest _brother's. "I apologize, your majesty, for not seeing you when I visited the other day. I was not feeling _myself_, so to speak." She waved her hand and gave a gentle smile.

"We understand. We have heard you are sick. Is this true?" She nodded quietly and flinched as Vivaldi barked for the maids to bring her some tea. Peter held out his arms, ready to pounce on his _favorite _person in the world. "My love- Ace..." His eyes grew dim, feeling the restraint of his arm keeping him from the other. The blonde just smiled, hand on his sword. "N-Now! Peter... I came to apologize to you as well, but I need to talk to Ace, _alone._" He pouted, muttering about how worthless Ace was and how he didn't deserve to be in the presence of her.

She could only groan. Was this how Alice felt? It sucked. The maid rolled her into the knight's room, bowing her head and waiting outside for them to finish their discussion. He had other plans in mind. The minute the door closed he was next to her, sword to her throat. "Why don't I want to kill you? I can't stand you, yet... I want you close to me. This doesn't make any sense!" He laughed out, putting his sword away. Mentally sighing, she looked at him. "I don't know how you're supposed to act around me here, but I do know how you're supposed to act around me in..." Her voice trailed off, quietly thinking about Ace. A soft pink flushed her cheeks. She just wanted to be in his arms...

She wanted to feel safe and secure again. Now she felt even more alone and confused than when she first arrived. "What would you do if I told you I didn't belong here?" This piqued his curiosity. "Hm? What do you mean?" A sigh followed her, standing up and finding some paper in his drawers. She drew two lines. One was curved as it went and the other was straight. "This is my world," she said as she pointed to the straight line. "This is wherever it is I am now. Somehow I moved from point a to point b." He nodded, listening to her quietly. He didn't quite get it but it did make sense. "Tell me more about 'your world'," he inquired, looking at her. She started explaining, telling him the major differences between her world and wherever it was she was stuck.

"_So... _I was in love with you?" A quick nod. "_or _so you claimed and acted," she muttered with a soft blush. He smirked, cupping her chin and forcing her to look at him. "Then that's probably what's makin' me feel this way. You're little knight must have some strong feelings for you~" She pulled back, looking away from him. "I don't know... What's different between how I used to act and how I do now?" He grinned. "Absolutely nothing! But for some reason, you're a lot cuter now."

She tapped her finger against her chin, not even noticing how close to her he was now. "Well, Ace always told me about how I needed to stop being 'so cute' as he put it... I thought he was just messing with me. A-Ace!" She squealed, falling over onto his bed.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note;<strong>

I apologize deeply about not being able to separate the last chapter, I was really wanting to post it so I posted it from my phone. Not sure how much I'll be posting as I need to start writing again, but I wanted to post this for everyone. Merry Christmas! I might be posting something Doctor Who related, not sure yet though. For your entertainment;

Preview for upcoming chapters;

_Julius was now cringing at the words 'death', 'die' 'dead', and 'kill'. The death rate had gone up so drastically that he couldn't even keep count of how many clocks he had to fix. _

_If Kiki being gone affects Ace that much, does he really like her? I know everyone is supposed to like the outsider-s, but does he like her beyond the fact that she is merely an outsider? Could he lo- _

"_Yes... and no. I still have no idea how to bring her back, but I know a bit more of what's happened. It appears as though somehow she was sent to parallel world. It's exactly like ours, but different, mostly people and timeline/events that have taken place. It would appear that in this other world, she takes Alice's place. Everything that has happened to you she supposedly went through. However, there is some rather disturbing information that I found out..." _

_Ace smiled, holding onto his sword with deathly intent._

_"Ah, well... You wanted to see me, Blood?" A soft smile crossed her lips, seeing him with his nose buried in some book._

_How could she have let herself forget this man of all people? _

"_My, my, what're you doing wandering off on your own?" _

"_-Plus if I am anything like my other self, then I'm probably killing everyone in attempts to get you back!"_

"_You say that so innocently." She dead panned. _

"_I guess... I do love him... Wow, that feels nice to just say out loud," she laughed softly, looking at the ground._

"_It seems things are going about smoothly."_


	14. Death and Jealousy? Oh my,

It hadn't been very long since Kiana had gone missing, but it wasn't fast enough for the impatient knight. There was no doubt about it. He was worse than Vivaldi when it came to her preparing for the ball. He was driving everyone up and down the walls. Nightmare got the worst end of it. He would have been dead, if he weren't possibly the only one who could bring her back. Ace reminded him of this every single day. Julius was now cringing at the words 'death', 'die' 'dead', and 'kill'. The death rate had gone up so drastically that he couldn't even keep count of how many clocks he had to fix. If Alice hadn't screeched at him that Kiana would be furious with him if she heard of such things going on he might have had to put a ban on killing.

Blood was being as helpful as ever, refusing to join the search. His reasons were; 'the dream demon obviously has no leads on how to find her, so why should I waste time blindly searching?' Today started with the usual. Ace was pacing about the halls, trying to think of where the girl might have gone. She had been no where to be seen throughout every territory, but why would she just disappear? She clearly left with no clothes… The thought reminded him of when he had last seen her. She was wearing only his shirt. _Only _his shirt. It was long enough to be a night gown on her, but it was still only a shirt. The thought of her running back, panting and flustered got his sick twisted mind stirring.

He slapped himself on the side of the face. "Now, now. This isn't the time to be thinking of things like that. Things _like that _can come when she's returned safely." If she wasn't, whomever had so much as laid a finger on her in the wrong way was sure to pay. This payment wouldn't be only with their life, but an almost never ending suffering much worse than death. He wouldn't forgive anyone whom harmed her. He turned on his heel, deciding to give the dream demon a visit. _Hopefully _he would have good news to give him. If not, he wasn't going to be very happy~

* * *

><p>Meanwhile Alice was sitting by the window, staring blankly at the clouds that passed. <em>Where could she have disappeared off to…? <em>These had been her thoughts for the last few days. What else could she do? They searched literally every inch of every territory. Well, Blood _claimed _that. Her brows furrowed at the thought of Blood lying to them. If he had done anything to her, she was going to punch him. Nightmare had been locked up in his room, saying he needed time to think and do some research. She didn't know if she quite fully believed him on that.

Julius was tucked behind his desk, furiously fixing the multiple clocks that had been sent in since the incident had occurred. It made her thoughts wander. _If Kiki being gone affects Ace that much, does he really like her? I know everyone is supposed to like the outsider-s, but does he like her beyond the fact that she is merely an outsider? Could he lo- _Her thoughts were interrupted by a horrid smell coming from the kitchen. Dread clearly ran over her features, not sure whether she was upset more by the smell or the fact she had missed Gray going into the kitchen.

"I'll clean it up," she smiled, going in and shooing him away from the disaster. She needed a break from her thoughts. Normally there wasn't much time to think, especially with her bubbly always-in-motion best friend. She liked keeping herself busy and that was fine, but when the hustle and bustle came to an abrupt stop, it felt kind of weird. It reminded her of before anyone realized there was another outsider. _I kind of miss those days- _Her eyes widened. What was she thinking? She shook the thoughts from her head, sighing and cleaning up the mess that was supposed to be food.

It didn't take long until the kitchen was filled with warmth and the mixed smell of coffee and tea. Carrying the tray into the other room, she handed Julius a cup. "I made you some coffee," she said, noticing the heavy bags under his eyes when she had first come up from her thoughts. He muttered his thanks, sipping it, judging it, then going back to his work. "I also made some tea for everyone else, it's green tea with lemon grass. If Nightmare doesn't like it, then I can make him some more." Her attitude and tone were overall nice, but Gray knew that she would inwardly be annoyed with the male.

"Aww! Don't I get any?" came the voice of a familiar brunette. Everyday, it seemed, he had come to see if Nightmare had made any progress. "There's still some more, I can make you a cup…" Ace laughed, sitting down on the couch and stretching his leg across it. "Nah, I'm fine. I was just teasing. I do want to talk to Nightmare, though." _Of course you do. Nightmare must really hate his role right now. _"He's a little busy… You know, trying to figure out how to bring Kiki back." While normal people would have groaned a little, possibly whined, sighed, and decided it was best to give up for the day; Ace was clearly not normal. It showed by the small smirk on his face. "Oh? Guess I'll have to have a talk with him."

Her brows knitted together. "Ace. I know you're upset, we all are, _besides Blood maybe, _but the fact is if he doesn't know he doesn't know." She sighed mentally. Nothing seemed to get through to him. It would last for a day then he was back on the same track the next. The more she thought it over, the more she thought maybe that perhaps it was his way of keeping himself from killing everyone in sight, _again._ Gray soon returned from Nightmare's room, empty handed. "I think I'll go have that talk with Nightmare now!" He stood up, staring off towards his room. She sighed. "No need, I'm already out here." Nightmare gave a small leer towards the knight.

"Have you figured anything out?" Alice asked, hopeful. "Yes… and no. I still have no idea how to bring her back, but I know a bit more of what's happened. It appears as though somehow she was sent to parallel world. It's exactly like ours, but different, mostly people and timeline/events that have taken place. It would appear that in this other world, she takes Alice's place. Everything that has happened to you she supposedly went through. However, there is some rather disturbing information that I found out…" He eyed Ace, curious if he should even speak the next line. He already felt his death would be by his hands, but he didn't need it just from passing on information.

"Hm? What do you mean?" She asked giving a tilt of her head. He sighed. "Well, when I said everyone was different, it's either personality or physical changes. A few examples; Ace is blonde with green eyes, Peter is obsessed with Kiki similarly as he is to you, Vivaldi looks like Blood, and Blood is actually a gentleman. He is a bit of a pervert, but quite the contrast to what you're used to seeing," he explained, watching the slight contortion of her features. "While, so far, Kiki still has her memories from this world, it would appear that she in that world was dating Blood." There was a soft shifting of noise, the sound of a blade being unsheathed to be specific.

"Oh? So if I kill him in this world, will he die in that world?" Ace smiled, holding onto his sword with deathly intent. "Ace!" She hissed, giving him a serious look. "Now isn't the time! If she has her memories, then she still clearly has the feelings she feels for you,_ whatever they are…_" She muttered the last bit, quietly thinking about it. She wasn't sure if her hesitancy of saying it came from how she saw her reacting around him or something else… He blinked, obviously not thinking about that before speaking. "Well, if that's true I guess it isn't so bad. I still want to kill him and I will if he touches her."

_Okay, let's just ignore the fact we don't even know how to get her back let alone go back and forth between the two. _"That's about all I have for now… It does seem whatever happened was connected to something that happened in this world before she disappeared." His red eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?" This bit of information was a large chuck that could possibly help figure out how to return her, so why he hadn't said it before was beyond any of them. "It seems that something caused by an overwhelming _negative _emotion made this happen. I watch everyone, so sadly I can't say that I can solo in on whatever it was."

Neither Gray nor Julius had much to think about from this since neither of them had been near her long before her sudden disappearance. Ace re-sheathed his sword, thinking over the events the night before she was gone. He had made her upset… But he also made her happy right after. Could that have been it? His brows furrowed while thinking about it. It just seemed confusing. If that was the cause then nothing clicked. She wanted to be _with him_, why would she suddenly make it so she wasn't anywhere near him? "I'm off. I have some questions to ask a certain Cheshire."

Alice barely heard any word he said. She was off in her own thoughts. Her first thoughts were generally the same lines. He made her _cry_. In her time of knowing the girl, she almost never cried, in front of her, _anyway. _If she did it was something that was decently serious and honestly hurt her in some way. The first time she had seen her cry was when her brother left. She shook the thoughts from her head. She felt bad, but feeling bad about the past wasn't going to bring her back now… Then she started to think about whether it was best for her to come back or not. _… If she stayed Ace wouldn't be able to hurt her anymore… but it might also be hurting her more that she's away from him… _The emotions that came along with the thoughts confused her. Did she feel… jealous?

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Surprise update? u3u;

I apologize about going poof. I've been getting into other things lately and I want to write for them but I fear the worst if I do. I do not want anyone complaining about my character when I work so hard to make them not mary sues... :L  
>But on a side note, I do have some more chapters written!<br>:D  
>I apologize for holding out but my biggest fear is that if I publish it all, I will forget about it then I will not write anymore. u~u<br>So, if you have any suggestions for the story, not relating to the current topic(perhaps you want to see someone on a date, etc~) then just leave me a PM. :D  
>On a side note, if you RP SupernaturalMarvel related things we should totally talk. uwu;  
>-just watched IM3, so in an IM mood. laskjij-<p> 


	15. Something here isn't right

The female swallowed, staring up into the emerald colored hues that held such a mixture of emotion. Ultimately confusion was the winner in the battle. Ace didn't understand any of this. This girl he honestly wanted to kill, he suddenly wanted to… "A-Ace…" Kiana murmured, pushing her head back as far as the pillow would allow her. He didn't move, only stared at her. He saw something that not even she was willing to fully admit to herself. Strong emotions that were impossible to hide. He could understand, since apparently _he _and this _other Ace _acted the same. He cupped her cheek, feeling the soft flinch accompanied with a small squeak.

He soon let go and left from on top of her, standing next to the bed. "I think we should talk, kitten~" A soft pink crossed her cheeks. "We are, aren't we?" He shook his head at this. "I mean somewhere else! Blood sent those little brats to follow you. They're very obedient in this world, so they do whatever he says. I'll let you get over your cold then when you're feeling well you can come visit me~ I think we need to have a little night out, away from everyone else." She was still hesitant, but he honestly seemed like the only one she could go to. She nodded. "Alright…"

* * *

><p>Time passed and in normal days, it felt like a week. In this twisted reality of a world? The outsider had no idea how long it really had been. She was feeling a lot better, however. Something tugged at the back of her mind while she wandered the hatter's mansion. It poked and prodded her but she just couldn't quite figure out what it was. "Ah, well… You wanted to see me, Blood?" A soft smile crossed her lips, seeing him with his nose buried in some book. He lifted his head to see the female, returning the smile. "You do remember how you wanted to read some of my books, right?" She nodded.<p>

"I found one you might like." She hopped over, sitting next to him and waiting for the book. "What's it about~?" He laughed at her eagerness, handing it to her. "You'll have to see. I'm sorry I don't really have many in that category, but when we go out again we can shop for some." She snuggled up to him, leaning on his arm and starting to read. "Mmkay,"she responded happily. Silence crept upon them, reading their different books in quiet bliss. _Shouldn't something be wrong with this? But… why? _Since her encounter with Ace, her mind started to become fuzzier and fuzzier. She knew she was forgetting something important, but what was it?

Hours passed and passed with the two reading. Kiana had herself busied with the lengthy novel while Blood had finished a few shorter books in the span. She stretched, closing the book with a soft grin. "That was a good story! Is this the only book or is it a series?" He blinked and shrugged in response. "I guess we need to find out when we go shopping." She nodded, resting her head in his lap. He smiled, gently stroking her hair. "Sleepy?" She muttered softly, "a bit…" He pulled her bangs from her face. "Then you should sleep." She shook her head. "I wanted to have tea with you~"

"I'll wake you up then, alright?"

"… You better."

She curled up against him, using him as a personal pillow. Before long she was fast asleep, snuggling the man she called her lover.

_That's not right._

Her eyes widened. No… She was dreaming now. Right? What wasn't right?

_Blood's __**not **__your lover._

"Huh?" She didn't understand. What was going on? This felt similar to when she talked to Nightmare, but… it was different. She couldn't quite put her finger on it.

_Everything about this world is wrong._

This world? Just what was going on? She shook her head, trying not to think about it. Perhaps if she didn't, it would go away. That plan was quickly washed down the drain, a figure appearing before her. This figure was tall and quite handsome. He had brown hair and… Her eyes widened, lifting her hands to rub them. She _had _to be seeing things. "But… you're not here…" No… this wasn't real… This man standing before her wasn't there… Tears swelled in her eyes, reaching out towards the oh-so-familiar figure. Why had she forgotten? How could she have let herself forget _this man _of all people? She remembered Alice, yes, but this man affected her in a different way…

Then something clicked. Why did she remember Alice but not Ace? "A-ce…" Her voice trailed off, hand outreached to the nothingness before her. He wasn't there. It was all in her mind, yet her heart ached as though he had been there. This was so confusing. She had to figure a way to get back… She didn't know how much longer she could bear the loneliness…

"-i… -ki… Kiki." Her eyelids fluttered open, feeling the warm liquid running down her face. She was… crying? She remembered her dream, but the moment she looked up at Blood it washed away. "Hm? What's wrong?" She frowned at his concerned look. "You were whimpering and crying, bad dream?" His thumb pressed against her cheek, gently wiping away the leftover tears that continued to flow. "Huh? I-I guess so… I don't remember." He was about to tell her that she could return to her resting when the time suddenly changed. Her eyes stared at the window, showing the dark skies with small lights scattered within it.

"Yay! That means I can have tea now. Didn't you get some new kind of tea?" He smiled at her enthusiasm to try the new type he had gotten. The two left the room, making their way out to the others and sitting down. The twins were showing off their new collection of weaponry and murderous devices they had gathered, while Elliot was quietly talking with Blood. She just giggled nervously, used to it, but still feeling a little anxious whenever they held the knives too close to her. "What do you think about this one? It's got these ridges so that it's harder for someone to pull it out."

_Sadistic little- _"Hm? Blood, what's up? You look a little concerned." He shook his head and smiled. "It's nothing to worry about. I'll have it taken care of." The twins now stood on either side of her. "Yeah!"

"and if the boss says it'll get taken care of-"

"he means it,"

"So come play with us!"

Her eyes widened, laughing while the twins dragged her off towards wherever it was they wanted to play. "I take it you don't trust him, boss?" Elliot inquired curiously. Blood shook his head. "I don't. He's acting strange and I don't like it. We'll have to keep a careful watch on him _and her_. I don't like limiting her, but she does have a tendency to run off without telling us." He sighed. He wasn't often worried about her, but the other was a different subject. He was attempting to kill her every chance he got. He would be stopped somehow, _this _behavior was not only different but rather suspicious.

He stood up, holding onto his cane. "If he lays a finger on her again, we'll just have to show him the power of the mafia."

"Dee…! Dum…! Slow… down!" The two came to an unwanted stop, frowning. "What's wrong _pretty _lady?" Kiana's eyes widened a bit, tilting her head and blinking. "Eh?" Dum looked to Dee with curiosity as well. "Why'd ya call her that?" Dee blinked and looked between the two. "I don't know… It just kind of fits..." The odd appearance seemed to fade, Dum agreeing and the two waiting for her to catch her breath. "So, what are we doing today?" She asked the two, smiling, walking with them.

"Um…" The two grinned in unison. She sighed. They ran off without thinking. Typical. "How about we go into town? I've been wanting to get some new clothes for a while."

"That sounds like a lovely idea." The three whipped around to see Blood, smiling. "Blood! You just want to see me changing, don't you?" She teased, sticking her tongue out. He returned with a small smirk, shaking his head. Elliot soon joined the group. "No, that isn't it, but it would be hard to go shopping without any money, wouldn't it?" Her mouth hung slightly. "…! I hadn't thought of that. You have proved your point, sir~"

The five went off to go shopping. The twins were constantly holding up outfits for her to try on, Blood watching the three whilst Elliot was watching out for anyone _unwanted. _Two days in a row he had come to the mansion requesting to see her. Something wasn't right. They already knew it didn't involve his head, since, well… He wasn't exactly the sanest of the groups. Days, it seemed, went on like this, constantly keeping a watch on the outsider.

* * *

><p>Kiana looked around a tree, frowning. Dee and Dum had wanted to play hide and seek with her, but they were no were to be seen. She started venturing away from the mansion, wondering if they had gone further out than she had expected. Blood had told her to stay in the grounds, but if she just ventured a little it wouldn't hurt, right…? ~ "Don't think I'm not looking for you~" she chimed, skipping beyond the gates safety. Nothing would stop her from finding them! "Come out, come out, where ever you are~" She sang, giggling while looking around.<p>

After about ten minutes she stopped. Had they hidden inside? She pouted. They said that they wouldn't go inside. They were nowhere to be found outside… "My, my, what're you doing wandering off on your own?" The voice sent chills down her spine, shivering in the unknown figure's sudden grip. "E-Eh?" Her eyes slowly turned to look at him, becoming wide as a flash of red briefly covered the green and brown covered the blonde. "Ace…" She mouthed, suddenly not caring that said male was pulling her to who knows where in the woods.

"That's me! Now, this may take a while, so just let me lead the way." Her thoughts soon returned to her, staring at the man like he was crazy. If he honestly wanted to get lost, then that was fine, she supposed. Two time changes later and it was nighttime, they were so lost in the woods that she didn't recognize it, and Ace had pulled out his oh-so-familiar-and-handy-tent. He sat across from her, staring at her with curiosity. "I thought we agreed to talk when you weren't sick." She tilted her head. Had she…? Oh! Right! She did.

"Well… I'll be honest, I kind of forgot… First Blood was keeping me surrounded like I deserved twenty four seven body guards, then somewhere along the lines I just… forgot." He blinked, but his eyes grew darker. "That's not good! We'll have to figure out how to get you back soon. It seems you're getting too comfortable with this world… Plus if I am anything like my other self, then I'm probably killing everyone in attempts to get you back!"

"You say that so innocently." She dead panned. He could only smile, resting his arm on his knee. There was a short silence, Ace taking up most of the tent by lying down. "You do have to get back. I'm startin' to not only feel weird, but I'm getting weird memories that never happened. I think you're messin' with whatever is keeping the two worlds apart." Her eyes widened, pointing at herself. "Me? I'm not that important. What kind of memories?" He shook his head, sitting up again.

"You are important. Alice misses you, _he_ misses you, and everyone else misses you." She mouthed the words he spoke, specifically Alice. The last time she had mouthed her name was when Alice first found out about her being there. It hadn't been quite as long, but the confusing and contorting memories made it feel longer. "I never told you about Alice, though… I told you about the differences between the two worlds, not Alice." He laughed, pulling her into his grip and falling back with her. "See what I mean? Obviously no one should know about her, yet I know."

She rest her head on his chest, listening to the constant ticking. It had never bothered her, but Ace's clock soothed her. This reminded her of the last time she had seen him, lying with him, falling asleep to the sound of his clock. "Hm?" She was so lost in her thoughts she hadn't realized she muttered his name. "E-Eh?" Her cheeks grew pink, looking at him. "I got a question, since you may never see me again you might as well answer, what were your feelings towards me or _Ace_?" He always felt weird stating his own name but referring to someone else.

She looked at him, unknowingly snuggling into his grip. This man was Ace. He looked different, but everything else about him screamed that he was the same man. Her body knew that, whether she was fully aware of that herself or not. "W-Well… I have a strong attraction to him… I-I mean… when I was little everyone always told me; 'when you're in love, you'll know about it'. If this is what love feels like, I would have never guessed." His brow arched, looking down to her. "Is it a bad feeling?" She shook her head. "No! It feels nice… I guess it wouldn't if he didn't like me back, but…"

"What's it feel like?" he questioned. Her eyes widened, tapping her forefinger against her chin in thought. What did it feel like? "It's hard to describe… I know I get mad a lot around him, but underneath my irritation, no matter what, I always feel happy. There's this never ending sense of security, like no matter what I'll be fine. Plus my heart beats a little faster when I'm around him…" This perked his interest, lifting his head. "That's right! You have a heart! Well, then~"

Before even a thought of making a noise could occur, he had her pinned underneath him. He pressed his ear to her chest, ignoring the squirming. Her cheeks burned, desperately trying to get away. "Ace…" she whimpered. He began listening to the pounding of her heart. It was a nice sound~ After a minute; he pulled back, just staring down at her. "Do you get like this with _him_?" Her eyes widened, rubbing her now free wrists.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean do you get all squirmy and embarrassed whenever he does something like that?" This question and answer time continued along the same subject. He kept asking her about Ace and her feelings towards him. "Well! It sounds like you feel the same way he does. If that's true, it looks like you are in love." He smirked at her clueless reaction. "W-What?"

"I said; _you __**are **__in love._"

"H-How do you know…?" He cupped her cheek, looking her in the eyes. "Because~ thanks to all these feelings I got from your little lover boy, I know how he feels. Not sure how, but I do." She often found herself lost in thought around this different Ace. She loved him? But- That would explain everything… Was this the reason why she felt the same around this Ace? Despite him being different, she still felt the same. His personality hadn't changed so could that be another big factor? Her head was starting to hurt from thinking about it too much.

"I guess… I do love him… Wow, that feels nice to just say out loud," she laughed softly, looking at the ground. It felt weird to say it, but it was the truth. Now that she said it, her heart ached even more. Would she ever see him again? After squirming her way from underneath him, she pulled her knees to her chest. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him. He was, in a sense, right beside her, but he wasn't… The moment she stepped away from him her memories started going… She _despised _it. What would happen when she went back to the hatter's mansion?!

Nothing had happened between her and Blood, but there was no guarantee that it wouldn't ever happen! Her nails dug softly into her skin. In her entire time of being there and even with the way she was treated as a servant, she never hated it… Her life was threatened multiple times, but she never grew angry with anyone who had threatened. She honestly liked being there… She would rather go back to being the-nobody-maid in a world full of wonderful people she could never honestly interact with than be stuck in this alternate plane of existence… Ace's arms soon gently wrapped around her figure, pulling her back so she was now lying on him again.

"Now, now… calm down…" he whispered, holding onto her comfortingly. She stared down at him, eyes holding back tears that longed to fall. His thumb caressed just underneath them, gently forcing them to fall so he could wipe them away. "None of that," he stated firmly. She licked her lips, gazing at him with slight confusion. Why did he have such an effect on her? She didn't understand it what so ever… It was so confusing! She closed her eyes, leaning down closer to him. Her lips brushed against his in her confused and emotional state. He obliged, deepening the small action by leaning into her movements.

* * *

><p>Nightmare stood in a different world, her arms crossed. "It seems things are going about smoothly. You better hurry things up on your end, or we might have a few problems," she announced to another figure.<p>

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><p><strong>Author's Notice: THIS STORY IS NOT DEAD. Surprise! Huzzah.<strong>

**I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry that I haven't updated in like a year. I just reread this story and went MUST WRITE MORE.**

**Well, in actuality, I got the urge to write more, got lost by my chapters on stash, then cried.**

**I plan on possibly rewriting it later when I'm finished with it. .3.;**

**Like going to the first chapter and rewriting it a chapter at a time… :D**

**Slowness to be expected, hopefully more updates than this, but I will be in college soon.**

**As per usual, your reviews are love to me and here are some previews:**

(Next three chapters, probs in order, but won't tell where they cut off)

"_I shouldn't have done that," she began repeating, flustered and confused._

_Blood's leer was almost impossible to match. She could feel it from inside the tent __and __**it wasn't even directed at her**__**.**_

"_Let's just say I have a more personal reason that I can't tell you," he smirked. "Now, if you don't mind, we're talking so you can leave."_

"_What's there to be jealous of, knight? She __**lives**__with me. She's __**dating**__me. Not you."_

"_Oh, really? Is that what you think? You think she loves you?"_

"_If he's so sure of himself, let him get killed."_

"_But!"_

_**Bang.**_

"_Oh, hey Alice. I suppose you haven't had time to look, have you?" There was a bit of bitterness to his tone._

"_You've forgotten, haven't you?"_

"_Forgotten what?! What exactly have I forgotten, Ace? Why are you acting like this?"_

"_Everyone slowly falls into the exact state. Everyone has forgotten, except Nightmare. You even forgot. Can't you see? Something's not right here…"_

"_Were you not getting jealous of another outsider in this land? Was it not you who wanted for her to no longer be here? Aren't you upset that your best friend is being taken away by the one person you couldn't change?"_

_There was a momentary pause before a shrill screaming- (cut off sorry ;3)_

"_Where did the bullet hit, exactly?"_

"_Does Ace know?"_

_He turned around, red eyes full of irritation and… sorrows? She didn't doubt it at this point._

**Oh, so sorry to be a pain, but I did want to say; I plan on doing something later on with a surprise. I AM so sorry that the characters don't directly relate to anything in Alice in Wonderland, but I tried more to copy the idea of HNKNA style for this new thing than anything. I did look for characters not used and couldn't really… -sigh; Anyway~ I hope you'll enjoy the work I've put into it. I haven't started writing for this special tidbit coming up, but I think it'll be rather interesting thing to add onto the story itself.**

**Oh yeah: bonus track: there's a date coming up somewhere ;D**


	16. Bang, Bang

Blood's brows knitted together, leering at the papers he had been working on. Dee and Dum had just come to inform him of how Kiana went missing. _One second we were playing with her, then the next she was gone! _He rubbed his temple, placing the documents down onto the desk and standing up. He would just have to find her himself. "Elliot! I want you to help me search for Kiana, Dee, Dum, keep an eye on the mansion." He barked at a few of the faceless servants to search too, making his way out towards the vast land between the territories.

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><p>Having a much clearer head, Kiana's eyes widened, quickly pulling away from the knight underneath her. "I shouldn't have done that," she began repeating, flustered and confused. She was angry, too, but mostly at herself. How could she have let herself do that?! Ace just laughed, pulling her back to rest on him. "Y'know… I'm a little jealous." Her brow arched thoughts still partially on the topic from before. "Um, why?" He grinned, forcing her to now be closer to him. "To know that someone like you likes me in this other world. If you weren't screwing with everything here, I'd just kill off Blood and keep you for myself!"<p>

She deadpanned both from his words and thinking about Blood. What was he going to do? He clearly didn't want her near him… What was she to even do about him? She wanted to make sure she didn't forget again, but how was it possible when he was keeping her like a caged rabbit? Her thoughts were interrupted, feeling his warm breath against her. "I enjoyed our little kiss earlier, so I'm stealing another~" She let out a short squeak, pulling back with a short murmur of, "bu-but, Ace…" He only leaned further in, responding, "I _**am **_Ace. Besides, if you say, it won't matter and if you don't he won't need to know…3" His smirk furthered, pulling her into another kiss.

This one was only stopped by the sound of rustling from outside of the tent. He pulled away from her, unzipping it to see exactly who it was outside. "Huh~? What're ya doin' out here?" Blood's leer was almost impossible to match. She could feel it from inside the tent _and it wasn't even directed at her_. "The more important question is why is Kiana here? If you want toys to play with, there are plenty of servants at the castle," he hissed through gritted teeth. If there wasn't a possibility of hurting her, he would have shot the tent up and not cared what happened afterwards.

"Let's just say I have a more personal reason that I can't tell you," he smirked. "Now, if you don't mind, we're talking so you can leave." He gave a rather displeased look, whacking Ace's hand as he attempted to zip back up the tent. His green eyes looked up at the Mafioso with curiosity. "Oh? What's wrong? Jealous that she'd rather spend time with me than you?" He made his way out of the tent, standing up with his arms crossed. Somewhere in the midst of their discussion the time had changed again. Kiana shielded her eyes, following the lead of the knight to stand next to him. It was the middle of the day and it was way too bright for her taste.

"Let's go, Kiana." She froze up, staring between the two. She didn't want to, but he obviously wasn't in a mood to play around. "Hey! That's really rude, y'know. We were just talking. You never answered my question, are you jealous?"

"What's there to be jealous of, knight? She _lives _with me. She's _dating _me. Not you. Whom she spends her time away with is her choice. I do know however that it's not what you're making it to sound like."

"Oh, really? Is that what you think? You think she loves you?" he paused a bit to laugh. "You don't even know half of the truth, hatter! She doesn't love _you._ She loves _me_." Her eyes widened, astounded at his words, so much so she couldn't even mutter an audible noise. _Why would he say that?! _Was this how strongly Ace felt about her…? She deadpanned. There was also the off chance that Ace was just egging Blood on. He did like to fight… He probably found it amusing that the Mafia leader was squirming slightly underneath the irritating grip of his words. "You don't know what you're talking about," Blood retorted, finally regaining his cool.

"I don't? I don't think you quite understand what's going on here. She. _Doesn't._ **love.** _**You.**_ Understand?" Finally she had calmed down from the shock enough to talk, hissing towards him. "Ace! You shouldn't say things like that!" Blood's eyes were narrowed, an obvious scowl laced over his features. Ace looked calm and rather pleased with this scowl. "Oh, because you know her so well? Because you _weren't_ the one trying to kill her since she practically got here?"

"I do. I know that this entire world she is in right now is a world where she doesn't belong. This was a world created to fix something in her world. This was simply to help her come to terms with the fact that she loves-"

"I've heard enough," he spat, changing his cane into a gun. "I didn't want it to happen in front of her, but you've left me no other choice, knight." Ace just stared at the gun with his brow arched, almost ready to laugh; she on the other hand was slightly panicked. "You think you can kill me? Really? Go on, try it." Her eyes widened. This world may not be right, but she still didn't want anyone to die… "Ace! Don't go saying something like that!"

"If he's so sure of himself, let him get killed."

"But!"

_**Bang.**_

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><p>Things had begun calming down, just a bit. It was enough for people to start going back to their normal everyday lives. Nightmare was working day and night, but it seemed to be less stress on him as it had been the previous times. Ace was nowhere to be seen, seriously lacking on his knightly duties beyond the normal. Alice was preparing some food for the group, happily putting it onto plates before walking out and handing it to everyone accordingly. Everything was certainly alright, she couldn't complain about anything.<p>

"How are the clocks coming?" she asked cheerily, getting a rather grim and slightly annoyed sigh. Of course he had been backlogged for quite a while now and was still trying to catch up, slowly doing so every day but not as much as he would have liked. She gave him a nervous smile before taking the tray back and heading to her room. She wanted to get some fresh air, so she wanted to pull her hair up before going outside. After pulling her hair up so that it was out of her eyes, she told Julius where she was going and headed down the long stairway.

Her eyes glanced around. The weather was decent, as usual. It wasn't too surprising. She began wandering away from the Clock tower, curious as to what the twins might be doing. They were always in the mood to play a game and lately she had been thinking about accepting their offer to play. She smiled and began turning on her heel, deciding that perhaps she should pay them a visit. The sound of rustling grass caught her attention. Not many of the bigger animals stalked around during the day, so surely it had to be a person. Who was it? She turned her head to glance in the direction of the noise, catching a glimpse of red.

_Is that Ace? _She thought, tilting her head. It had been a while since anyone saw him, so she was slightly worried. She began to follow the trail he had recently made. It was about ten minutes or so and quite a bit away from the clock tower before she was able to really tell whether it was him or not. Indeed, the red flash was the knight that had disappeared overnight. "Ace! Where have you been?" she called out. He turned around, giving his usual innocently seeming look. "Oh, hey Alice. I suppose you haven't had time to look, have you?" There was a bit of bitterness to his tone.

What was he talking about? She tilted her head. Looking? What were they looking for? A shiver ran up her spine at the small leer she received. It was worse due to the fact that he was still smiling that usual smile he had. "You've forgotten, haven't you?" This was the last straw! Now he was accusing her of things! "Forgotten what?! What exactly have I forgotten, Ace? Why are you acting like this?"

"Acting like what? Being worried about a good friend and someone I care about? I would think you should be **more** concerned than I am, after all she is _supposedly_ your best friend." She winced upon hearing this statement, staring at him like he had gone mad. She bit her tongue as a realization had come upon her. She _had _forgotten someone very important to her… She took a step back, not liking the look he held. "I… how could I possibly forget?!" Her mind was now held all sorts of guilt over this fact. He just shook his head, being too used to it by this point in time. "Everyone slowly falls into the exact state. Everyone has forgotten, except Nightmare. You even forgot. Can't you see? Something's not right here…"

It took her a moment before glancing down at the ground, slowly thinking everything that had happened over. The scenes seemed to play out through her mind like it was a book or a slideshow… Just as things fell into place into the current moment, something crossed her mind. There was always that one person… In every good mystery there was always one person who was behind it all! "Ace! You just said it yourself! 'Except Nightmare', why wouldn't he forget when the rest of us have? _What_ is making us forget?" He slowly blinked, harboring a _much _less hardened look than he had been bearing since they met up.

The two wasted no time in returning to the clock tower, pursuing a certain dream demon that they needed to have a word with. Once the two entered his room, it was clear to them that he had not been looking for her at all. This caused Ace to be even more livid than he already was. "So, all of that time searching for her was a lie?" Nightmare sipped his tea, looking at him. "I was watching her, yes; did I need to search for her? No." Alice proceeded to leer at him, hands balled into fists. This was beyond anything she would imagine him to spring up! How could he?! "Is this not what you wanted?" He wasted no time in allowing for her thoughts to be made public, looking soon to her. She took a step back, staring at him. "What do you-?"

"Were you not getting jealous of another outsider in this land? Was it not you who wanted for her to no longer be here? Aren't you upset that your best friend is being taken away by the one person you couldn't change?" A smirk played on his lips, watching her reaction in full as it slowly changed; first being livid to slowly shock then finally into realization. "But I-" He ignored her with another sip of tea. "You did. Some things you think subconsciously are quite powerful, Alice." She nervously swallowed, staring harshly at the ground. This meant… This was because of her? She gritted her teeth, shaking her head. "No! While I may have been a bit envious… I would never want something like this to happen!"

His lips played into an 'oh?' whilst still smirking. "Is that how you want it?" She held a stern look, not letting their eyes disconnect for a moment. "So be it, then." Before another word could be said the world around her started dispersing, like a paper house being burnt to the ground. She covered her eyes, flashes of red, orange, and yellow clouding her vision. Just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. The world grew black with bits of color here and there. It was almost like when she was asleep. Wait a moment… "What the hell is going on…?" The sound of another voice came clearly but muffled. The figure sounded hurt. What was going on now…? She ran to it, surprised to see Kiana there.

It was exactly like a dream, she didn't doubt it anymore. Her eyes stung as she really saw Kiana, the warmth stinging her cheeks as she moved to hug her tightly. "O-onee-chan, I-I think this is all my fault," she sobbed pitifully, angry with herself for allowing a feeling like that to even become so strong. Kiana's eyes widened, relaxed as she felt the other's arms around her, and lightly patting her head. "There, there, I think I had a hand in this situation, too," she responded softly.

"What do you mean?" Alice questioned, rubbing the tears from her eyes. "I should have told Ace how I felt a while ago, but at the same time this conversation should have happened much earlier, too. I kept pushing Ace away, like I didn't care or something. I'm just so happy that he's…" she pondered for a moment, trying to think of a polite way to say it. "Whatever the hell Ace is," she giggled, "but I'm sorry that you felt jealous. I guess part of me could sense that, but the other wanted to believe it not to be true? I should have just come to you."

Alice pulled her into a tighter hug, giving a few more sobs as she simply held onto her. _'This is why I admire you, Kiki; I wish I could be that forgiving and understanding…'_ Her hands gently smoothed out Alice's hair, letting her have her moment as she held onto her. _'You're so strong, Alice; despite everything you tried to bear a smile. I wish I could do that.'_ Another figure came into view as they pulled a part. It was Nightmare, and thank god, it was male.

"You know, you two really are disgusting. Alice, you're far more forgiving and understanding than you know and Kiana you're strong too. I mean, after all, you managed to deal with this little dilemma. Now would you two stop with your sob story?" He wasn't exactly one to be 'nice', but he figured if he got it out of the way now they might feel a little better and move forward with the situation at hand. "Why are we sleeping?" Alice questioned. "Everything is being set back into place. It takes a toll to move a body from one place to another like this… that's why you got a cold before," he explained.

"So that's why I randomly had a cold," Kiana hummed in interest. "No more of this bullshit, okay? I don't think I can deal with it again…" Alice nodded in agreement, obviously feeling the same way about the situation. He rolled his eye. "Then stop having such negative emotions and maybe I won't have to force you to fix it this drastically again," he retorted rather unhappily. There was a momentary pause before a shrill screaming sounded as Kiana fell to the floor.

"Kiki! What's wrong?! Nightmare!" Alice shouted desperately, hoping to get some answers. Nightmare tapped his forefinger to his chin. "I could have sworn I had gotten her out before-" … "Before what?!" Alice shrieked at him. "Before Blood's bullet pierced her torso," he stated rather nonchalantly.

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><p><strong>Author's Note;<strong>

**Wowza balooey. THIS STORY IS STILL NOTE DEAD. YIPPE.**

**So like um stuff. I'm sorry I'm lazy I've gotten my hands full of writing other stuff… and stuff… and yeah. So, uh, I'll work on this when I can. College is coming up, so more slowness to be expected. I've got like 5+ chapters ahead, can't upload them all because nope. I'll slowly add them in, though.**

**Previews:**

"_Just focus on me, don't let anything distract you. You'll be fine, okay? You have to be fine,"_

"_d-don't… l-lea-ve…" She shook her head, confused by her statement._

"_I won't leave," she spoke just before the world around her started to fade._

"_I thought I might never see you again…"_

"_Kiana told me to meet you here? She said it was an emergency," Elliot spoke in between breaths._

"_Well, you __**do**__ remember I said there was a punishment I needed to give you, right?"_

"_Damn pervert," he muttered before they walked away._

_A small smirk played on the figure's lips as a soft, "so that's what they look like," erupted the silence._

"_A-Ace, you left a mark,"_

"_I think I'll pay this country a visit!"_

"_Allow us to introduce ourselves," the male spoke up, "my name is Ezekiel and I am the __**King **__of__[censored]." He gave a short bow before looking at the woman across from him. "My name is Genevieve and I am the __**Queen **__of [censored]," she said with a short curtsy. _[kept secret just in case you guys can't figure it out, might as well tease. You probably know those.]

"_Does that mean," Genevieve started, "you're foreigners?" Ezekiel finished._

"_I'm afraid it's time for you to go,"_

"_We're not leaving without them,"_

_I am making the order for you to leave, or you will be removed by force,"_

"_And if we don't? I'm not scared of some guards,"_

"_If you don't, then I might fear for the safety of your companions. They are, after all, at our merciful hands. If I so wish, then I could have one or both of them killed this very instant, wouldn't that be rather unpleasant?"_

"_You wouldn't,"_

"_Oh, but wouldn't I? __**Guards**__,"_


End file.
